Mr. Martin McGuinness:

It obviously brought my adviser to the conclusion that we should not assent to it. Had a formal submission been received from the Department of Finance it would have been subjected to detailed scrutiny by departmental officials and economists. It would have been assessed and legal advice would have been sought from the departmental solicitor's office and, if necessary, from the Attorney General. The MOU sent to NAMA did not represent the Executive's position, had never been formally submitted or considered and was not an OFMDFM document because it did not have the required joint approval.