Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy's questions betrays a misunderstanding about NAMA which I had hoped would have been cleared up by now, given Mr. McDonagh's recent presentation to the committee. When someone goes into NAMA, they continue to owe all the money, not part of it. If they are not prepared to pay the money, their assets are taken. This is what NAMA does. If the assets are unviable, apparently they will be bull-dozed in some circumstances. I appreciate this does not arise with a home owner. There is no equation between NAMA and the position of struggling homeowners. We do not propose that an agency should be set up which could in some sense insist they would pay all their money or be put out of their houses. This is not what is proposed.

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