Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In his opening statement Mr. McCarthy commented that he had spoken to NAMA's sister audit office in the United Kingdom and got advice from it on the report, and Northern Rock was used as an example. Mr. McDonagh said in his opening statement that, at the time, experts were sought on the valuation of assets in dealing with Northern Rock. I am beginning to understand now why Mr. McCarthy did not engage experts because he is reviewing raw evidence and the work provided by NAMA but not assessing whether the discount rates hold up commercially and their benchmark etc. Is that a fair comment? Mr. McCarthy is using his expertise to review exactly what is contained in the minutes, the backup for them and all the cashflow projections to ensure they all match up. Would it be fair to say that if he was to bring that to the market, he would need additional expertise in valuations?