Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

To set the record straight, the NAMA draft business plan is constructed around the notion of significant tranches of loans being transferred from the banks to NAMA in 30-day periods, so that by the end of July, it is anticipated that the €54 billion in loans or the bonds will be issued. Therefore, it is the structure of the Minister's proposals that gives rise to the response of a 30-day framework, because that is the way NAMA proposes to work. In the context of the framework, the draft plan and the other documents given to us about NAMA, there is significant emphasis on the schedules making up the content of the loans. That is the fundamental way in which the NAMA work is to be done by those working in NAMA.

The professional approach they will take is that they will schedule the loans and then have indicative values across the schedule or spreadsheet. In that context, that is how one gets long-term economic value, because one has the book value of each asset, the market value and then the uplift that has been foolishly provided for the long-term economic value. If one reads the documentation and the Bill, those actions, which will be carried out on a 30-day basis, are intrinsic to the structure of how NAMA will operate. 5 o'clock

The proposal I made involves almost no extra cost. It is a reporting proposal, not an auditing requirement, and is modelled on what is happening in the United States, where the critical requirement is to get the information out. I said to the Minister that if he accepted this principle of disclosure to citizens, I would be prepared to accept his advice and that of his officials on how to word the amendment better. I accept Deputy Bruton's point that people who are not in default are in a somewhat different category. We debated this in the middle of the night when the Green Party was not around and the Minister conceded in the course of the debate that some summary information will be given every three months, but only three months in arrears. Six months after the initial period, we will get the information. At the end of the first six months, according to the draft business plan, at least 70% of the loans will already be dealt with. That is why the 30 day period is significant.

There are other sections of the Bill, such as section 207, that concern court proceedings arising from NAMA, and these proceedings will all be commercial, civil proceedings. There is a provision, however, that the judge can decide to hold those hearing in camera. I am not a lawyer, although I know the Minister of State is another lawyer; the Government is stuffed with them.

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