Mr. Frank Daly:

On the Blackstone quote, I mean, I've read it. I'm not going to comment on it but I think it does actually point to the fact that if they were coming to Ireland in the years after NAMA was established expecting that they were going to pick up cheap assets, they didn't, because we didn't put them on the market. There were plenty that came in. They kicked the tyres. They offered us derisory prices and we said:

Go away. Cop yourselves on. Go off. We're not under pressure to sell here.

And we weren't under pressure to sell because we had the UK market being actually good to us, which is the point I made in my statement. So we didn't sell at fire sale prices.

As to whether they are all vulture funds or whatever, you know they are investing in Ireland now. And whether you like it or not, we actually do believe for a functioning property market, we do actually need investors coming in. I would love to see more Irish investors buying Irish assets and I am glad to say that is beginning to happen, you have investors coming from all over the world. But you know, in some cases these are ... I know the white tailed eagle in your own home county, Deputy, may not be totally accepted, but in some cases these investors coming into Ireland are actually good for the country. The main point is that we have not been selling cheaply, we have not been fire-selling, and, in fact, we are at the situation now where it is impossible really to forecast when a market will peak or what is the optimum day that you sell your assets.

But I think we have called it right in relation to that. So, if you go back to that quote from Blackstone ... I think you went and you asked any of the funds that have been dealing with us over the last four or five years how they found NAMA to deal with, the one word that would come through is "tough" and "difficult.", and looking always for the best price.