Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The chairman and chief executive of NAMA are well aware of the views of the committee about the late arrival of the opening statements, as expressed to them during the suspension period. We are coming towards the end of our hearings on special report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General on NAMA and its sale of Project Eagle, which was the code name given to the sale of NAMA's Northern Ireland loan portfolio. Today, we will meet representatives of NAMA again. We have also met members of the NAMA board at the time; the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, and his officials; Mr. Brian Rowntree, who is a former member of NAMA’s Northern Ireland advisory committee, NIAC; the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland; the chief operating officer of Cerberus Capital Management, which is the investment firm that bought Project Eagle; and Mr. Patrick Long, who is the managing director of Lazard, which is the company that acted as adviser to NAMA in the loan sale. We have received detailed correspondence from other individuals and that has been put on the record as well.

I welcome to today's meeting Mr. Frank Daly, who is the chairman of NAMA; Mr. Brendan McDonagh, who is its chief executive; Mr. John Coleman, who is its chief financial officer; Ms Aideen O’Reilly, who is its head of legal affairs; Mr. Alan Stewart, who is its senior divisional solicitor; and Mr. John Collison, who is its head of asset recovery. We are also joined by Mr. David Linehan, who is the NAMA liaison officer in the shareholding unit of the Department of Finance. As I have mentioned, the Comptroller and Auditor General is also in attendance. I thank Mr. Daly and Mr. McDonagh for their co-operation, despite this morning's suspension. We have written to NAMA on behalf of the committee every week, sometimes with six questions and sometimes with 36 questions. Extensive correspondence has come back to us on a staged basis. I hope we will reach the end of that process in the next week or two. I acknowledge that we have received a great deal of documentation. A little part of it can be seen in the files beside me. A great deal of work has been put into this process by NAMA.

I remind members and those in the public Gallery to turn off their mobile phones. I have to advise the witnesses that by virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, they are protected by absolute privilege in respect of their evidence to the committee. If they are directed by the committee to cease giving evidence in relation to a particular matter and they continue to so do, they are entitled thereafter only to qualified privilege in respect of that evidence. They are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given. They are asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, they should not criticise or make charges against any person, persons or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable. Members of the committee are reminded of the provisions of Standing Order 186 to the effect that the committee shall refrain from inquiring into the merits of a policy or policies of the Government or a Minister of the Government or the merits of the objectives of such a policy. Finally, members are reminded of the long-standing ruling of the Chair to the effect that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the House or an official by name in such a way as to make him or her identifiable. I invite Mr. Daly and Mr. McDonagh to make their opening statements.