Michael Noonan (Limerick East, Fine Gael)

When the Minister decided to establish the National Asset Management Agency, the Government's policy was to rescue Anglo Irish Bank to enable it to continue actively trading. Since then, the Government has changed its view on Anglo Irish Bank and has effectively organised it into two parts for a wind-down. The cost and work involved in transferring the toxic assets from the recovery bank component of Anglo Irish Bank to the National Asset Management Agency make such a transfer superfluous and costly. It has the second disadvantage of crystallising the debt before it is necessary to do so.

I do not see the logic of this exercise. While the cheerleaders in the professions will be delighted with it, the taxpayer does not come out of it very well. I cannot see the advantage of going through the whole rigmarole of making transfers to NAMA from what is now a recovery bank with similar functions to NAMA. Circumstances have changed and Government policy on Anglo Irish Bank has changed completely.

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