Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

2020. Okay. Everyone pays an annual dividend. Two years ago it was projecting €2 billion, €2.5 billion, €2.6 billion, €3 billion, €3.2 billion and now €4 billion. Given that NAMA is tidying up property loans which contributed to the housing problem and is sitting on what is expected to be a conservative surplus of €3 billion to €4 billion, can some of that not be used in the meantime to deal with the housing crisis?

There are two aspects to that. First, the surplus is projected. It does not exist yet to some extent, although NAMA is making profits at present. However, it does not have a surplus because it has not yet paid off all the debt. The surplus is what will be left when it pays off all the debt.