Mr. Brendan McDonagh:

The three-month period applies to people who have worked in NAMA from the very start. The NTMA, which is the employer, recently reviewed employment contracts. After taking legal advice, it decided to extend that period to six months in the cases of new people and people who are being promoted into senior positions. There is a certain period of time for which one can restrain people in this way. If one puts them on gardening leave, one has to pay them for that period. I accept that there is an issue with the impact on the organisation of people leaving. Enough sanctions are already in place, including the confidentiality provisions under section 202 of the NAMA Act, the provisions of everybody's employment contracts and the obligation to comply with the Official Secrets Acts, to ensure we have a mechanism for dealing with people. I regard the people who work in NAMA as professional. They are recruited for their expertise, rather than their specific knowledge of individual assets. One way to ensure they cannot benefit from their specific knowledge of individual assets is to ensure the assets that go up for sale are openly marketed. If everybody can see them, nobody has exclusive information.