Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

This is one of the most critical sections of the Bill because it is through this mechanism that the amounts NAMA will pay for certain loans, assets and so on can be jacked up to any number one might think of given that the two valuation principles are economic value and long-term economic value. I listened to Deputy Mulcahy say how much he expected property values to rise and rise. There are Fianna Fáil optimistic valuers all saying: "Ah, sure it'll be all right in a couple of months time." We know that it is part of their political skills to sell a scenario like that. However, it is also part of why Fianna Fáil has once again ruined the country. Refusing to accept the Fine Gael amendment would be churlish in the extreme.

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