Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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Regarding Project Eagle, it seems obvious from the documentation that was sent to the Minister, Deputy Noonan, from the then Minister of Finance in Northern Ireland, which had been sent on by Brown Rudnick, before our Minster sent it to NAMA that there was a concern about a fire sale of assets in Northern Ireland. Obviously, we would be sensitive to that. Northern Ireland is not just any other country to us - it is something in which we take a major interest. All of a sudden, though, there was a volte-face. Due to an expressed interest, the loan book could be combined and the fire sale was not an issue. In fact, it seems that there was a political necessity for this to be expedited as quickly as possible. The Minister mentioned that he had a number of phone calls. We are aware of one, which is documented in this report, with the First Minister and deputy First Minister. Why the sudden change in tack regarding the sale of assets by NAMA?