Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

There is no danger of NAMA becoming like FÁS, although I hasten to add that I have great respect for the activities of FÁS on the ground, notwithstanding what happened at board level. Deputy Burton has entirely legitimate concerns about the way corporate governance was carried out in many places, both public and private, in the past. People were sometimes put on boards because they enjoyed a high reputation and were therefore a good advertisement for the institution to which they belonged, or if they were high-profile public figures they could open doors and have contacts at home and abroad.

Many lessons will have been learned from the disastrous experiences of the past couple of years, and not alone for NAMA. People will be much more on guard and vigilant in future so that disasters of the type we have seen will not happen again. This is particularly likely to be the case in NAMA, which will become the highest profile public organisation in the country and on which so much will ride. The idea of any board members being passengers, neglecting their responsibilities or being flower pots, as Deputy Burton put it, can be excluded.

Senator O'Toole's concern was that without a finance sub-committee of the board, too much power would reside with the executive. A sub-committee of the board, which requires two NAMA board members to be present, ensures greater control. All important decisions will be referred to the NAMA board. It does not apply to the SPV but that will have to report to NAMA, including its finance committee.

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