Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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This is very important. The banks were given NAMA bonds in exchange for the loan books they transferred to NAMA. The NAMA bonds were paying a very small coupon, although they improved the liquidity of the banks. Frank Daly and the NAMA representatives constantly attended troika meetings. The European Commission and the European Central Bank, under the NAMA Act, were constantly urging that NAMA comply with the expeditious disposal of assets. They were doing so because they were providing a great deal of liquidity to the Irish banks at the time and also because the approximately €30 billion was a contingent liability on the Irish balance sheet. Therefore, there were considerations, not about Northern Ireland, but policy considerations about getting back into the market and getting out of the bailout. That is why the Oireachtas, in passing the NAMA Act, included the word "expeditiously". It was to work out the loan books quickly, so the banks could be restored to good health. The ECB wanted to discontinue the provision of lots of cheap money-----