Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

No, we will deal with the reality rather than what potentially or possibly could have happened. We are dealing with what actually happened. When Fortress read about the leak, it made immediate inquiries at a very high level in NAMA and at Government level, and the following day it was in the process. That is what actually happened. I suggest that NAMA was very fortunate that there was a media leak. If NAMA had not had Fortress in there, it would have had just one bidder and it would not have been able to convince anybody here that there was a competitive process. NAMA was very lucky that the media leak allowed this bidder in. The only reason Lazard could say to NAMA at the end of the process that it had been a competitive process was that there had been two bidders. One of them came in by fluke. It was not asked in by NAMA, according to the letter from which I have read. NAMA might have intended to ask Fortress to come in if other people fell out, but the reality is that it came in as a result of the media leak. I ask myself what kind of way that is to run a show.