Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The witnesses are very welcome, and I thank them for coming today. I think NAMA has done a very good job in recent years in difficult circumstances. Its return to the Exchequer of the sums that are there is very welcome, particularly now. I recognise it is a commercial enterprise operating in a commercial environment, which is extremely difficult. It needs to make commercial judgment calls, not always with the benefit of perfect information that we all might like.

I also recognise that NAMA has a significant level of oversight with the Comptroller and Auditor General and this committee in public forum. That is a pressure on a commercial enterprise that other commercial enterprises do not have. I recognise and acknowledge all that. It is clear that Mr. McDonagh is here to talk about a mistake that has been made. He has acknowledged that, and I accept that. On the other hand, I have some detailed questions on it.

I am concerned about the part of the report dealing with the level if disagreement with and contesting of the Comptroller and Auditor General's findings and the engagement on that. I note that over the last two years NAMA has derogations for legal services of over €11 million. It is important that NAMA is equipped with appropriate legal commercial expertise given the commercial entities it is engaging with. However, I have a concern where that expertise is being used against other entities of the State. How much of those fees are being used to fight any findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General?