Michael Noonan (Limerick East, Fine Gael)

Why does the Minister consider it necessary to make transfers from the recovery bank to NAMA given the sole work of the recovery bank will be to work out the impaired assets? With the lifting of the ceiling from €5 million to €20 million this appears like the organisation of a big NAMA and a small NAMA, with assets being transferred from one to the other? This seems superfluous and is also a pretty costly exercise. If the impaired assets remain in the recovery bank the people who are expert in this area can work out and recover value on the assets. The transfer process involves bringing in a lot of professional people, who, as we know from the NAMA business plan which allocates €2.5 billion to professional fees over five years, charge large fees. Is that not superfluous, especially given the changes the Minister announced this morning?

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