Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Given the hit that the taxpayer took, the conclusion must be that at best NAMA is achieving just under 50% of the par value of the loans. The net result is the taxpayer, the public, still needs to bridge that gap and pay that back. Our children and our children's children will pay it back. That is the point I am making. I take on board what Mr. McDonagh said about the amateurs. The banks were not amateurs; they were not supposed to be. We used to have people called bank managers. Anybody who tried to borrow money from them years ago knows how hard it was. There was a bit of common sense about the place. We cannot go back over that now. Unfortunately, a lack of regulation led us to that situation. The sum total here is that the taxpayer is taking the hit on this no matter which way it is put. I take on board Mr. McDonagh's comment that he hopes to get a surplus of even more than €4.2 billion. The net result here is that the taxpayer will still take the hit for more than half the value of those loans.

I have just one other question. Is it true that NAMA has 54 empty apartments in Finglas and 69 in Malahide?