Ms Ann Nolan:

First, there is an awful lot of very useful information in the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report. When we wrote to the Comptroller and Auditor General on the issues of the process which he had taken, our question was whether the Comptroller and Auditor General’s office had spoken to the NAMA board itself. I note the committee will interview the NAMA board. To some extent, that meets my concerns in that area.

There was also a question of whether the Comptroller and Auditor General’s office had spoken to Lazard directly, rather than just looking at the paper issues. Those were the two main issues that were outstanding at the end of the process.

Earlier, we touched on the fact that Mr. Daly made reference to the robust exchanges between our Department and the Comptroller and Auditor General’s office. I have been involved in many value-for-money reports over quite a long number of years - more than I care to remember - with the Comptroller and Auditor General’s office and with both current and previous staff there. There are frequently, at various points, robust exchanges between sponsoring Departments, agencies and the Comptroller and Auditor General’s office. By and large, most of those exchanges end up with an agreed report. The bulk of this report stands on its own merits and has no issues on which I have discussions.