Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

First, I must get the information sought by the Deputies. Qualification is an ongoing process in any Department, although I would have doubts about the capacity of the senior persons in the Department of Finance to undergo further qualification and study at present given the volume of business that they must transact. There is ongoing education and training in any Department, and especially in the Department of Finance.

Regarding the NTMA, I wanted to reply to Deputy Burton. I am sure the Leas-Cheann Comhairle will not object to me dealing with it because it is an important question. The deputy secretary general who had charge of the banking crisis became the Secretary General of the Department, as Deputies will be aware, and at that stage I deemed it appropriate that the assistance of the NTMA should be available to the Department in direct negotiations with the financial institutions. I felt it important that this should be done. In fact, the relevant legal documentation has not yet been executed, but in practice there is a protocol and the negotiations with the different guaranteed institutions are conducted by the NTMA with my Department.

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