Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 26 September 2013

Public Accounts Committee

Annual Report and Financial Statements 2012: Discussion with National Asset Management Agency

11:10 am

Mr. Brendan McDonagh:

It is impacting on our business operations, as I said in my opening statement. We recruited a lot of these people in 2010 and 2011 when the banks and property firms were letting a lot of people go. As the economy improves, obviously opportunities arise for these people. We are doing our best to retain people and to recruit people to fill the gaps. One of the things we are doing now is promoting those we recruited initially at a junior level who now have one or two year's experience to fill the positions of those who leave. It is not easy but we must accept the environment we are in. We are doing our best to manage it. In reality, if someone is very good and is highly skilled, he or she will have opportunities elsewhere. People are people and if they are in their mid-30s, with a family and a mortgage, they know that the lifespan of NAMA is finite, ending in 2020. If they get a job offer from somewhere that will see them working beyond 2020, then they will accept that offer to give themselves longer-term security.