Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

No, and this may surprise the Deputy. I asked the amount of funding each of these invested in the NAMA group and how much they will get when NAMA is being wound up, because NAMA will have a surplus.

In recent weeks, the Minister would have made a statement that Members asked about paying off the NAMA debts earlier because NAMA has plenty of money in its account and will have a surplus. The Minister for Finance said that they could only return the money to the Exchequer when all its debts are paid off and the investors in the holding company have been paid. I asked who were the investors in the holding company. Let me read from the Minister's reply to my parliamentary Question No. 28.

The reply said there was a decision issued by EUROSTAT in 2009 that only special purpose vehicles, SPVs, that were majority owned by private companies would be regarded as being outside the Government sector, which means off the State balance sheet. It said:

Among the conditions were that the SPVs were of temporary duration and were established for the sole purpose of addressing the financial crisis.

In order to avail of this accounting treatment, NAMA established an investment holding company – National Asset Management Agency Investment D.A.C. – which is majority-owned by private investors. 51% of its shares are collectively owned by private companies and the remaining 49% are owned by NAMA. Under the shareholders’ agreement between NAMA and the Private Investors, NAMA exercises a veto over decisions ... EUROSTAT gave its approval to this structure in October 2009.

Even though they own 51% and 49% have a veto, EUROSTAT accepts that once there is 51% private ownership, it is off the State balance sheet.

The reply continued: "The total issued share capital of National Asset Management Agency Investment D.A.C is €100m of which €51m ... was invested by the Private Investors, each receiving an equal share of the 51 million B ordinary shares." It then gave a breakdown of the share capital invested by the original private investors in 2010. I will not read it all. To come up with the €51 million, the 51% of the NAMA holding company, Irish Life Assurance Plc put in €17 million, New Ireland Assurance Company Plc put in €17 million and a company called Percy Nominees Limited put in €17 million. That €51 million gave them 51% ownership of the holding company in NAMA and that took NAMA off the State balance sheet. EUROSTAT is happy with that but 51% of it is owned by the private sector. Some of those companies changed and now the final shareholding is still owned by a company called BNY Custodial Nominees, which owns €17 million; New Ireland Assurance, which owns €17 million; and the €17 million owned by the other company is now being split between Arthur Michael Joseph Keeley; the Church of Ireland Clergy Pensions Fund, which owns 3%; the Representative Church Body, Church of Ireland investment fund, which owns another 2.5%; Geoffrey Ian Broomhead, who owns 1.3% of the shares and Simon Stuart Haworth, who owns 1.2% of the shares. The arrangement is they get a dividend each year based on the interest available on the market at that time. At the end of it they get a dividend. Before the €3 million surplus of NAMA can be handed back to the State, that €51 million has to be bought back by the Government. They have to get their dividend which they are getting each year. The dividends paid to these companies was €5 million in 2011. It is on the record in a reply to a parliamentary question on 10 October. They have been paid €13.52 million in dividends to date. They will get a dividend at the end of the process and €13.552 million has been paid to them by way of a dividend for their investment in the NAMA holding company.