Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I accept that is a reasonable conclusion but the circumstances in which the financial collapse took place meant an awful lot of business people, big and small, ordinary householders who had borrowed and so on, lost everything and were squeezed to the limit. They continue to be squeezed as a result of the financial crash.

I realise that the moneys have to be found somewhere and that the vulture funds, as they are now called, were licensed to operate in the country because there was no movement in funds or proper lending. The question is whether the time has come when there should be a limit on the activities of the financial funds that are active. I see a possible conflict whereby they are so active that one of them will fund a particular construction project and then purchase it as well. As a result, they control a massive amount in the construction sector for starters and in other sectors. Building and construction costs are affecting all industries right across the board. The question is to what extent NAMA can look at the potential effects on the economy down the road.