Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

The first of my two questions relates to the non-NAMA loan book and the quality of it. Is the Minister satisfied that enough work has been carried out by the regulator to rigorously assess the quality of the non-NAMA loan book, in particular the mortgage book, SME loans, other commercial loans and now loans that had been destined for NAMA, between €5 billion and €20 billion? Is the advice available to the Minister that the banks have adequately provided for the expected losses in the non-NAMA loan book? Is such provision satisfactorily allowed for by the accounting rules? Between now and January, when the NTMA must return to the markets to raise funding, we must demonstrate a credible pathway to achieving the 3% target by 2014. Will the Minister tell the House what advice he has from the NTMA about what he needs to achieve in the budget and the four year plan to demonstrate that credibility to the markets between now and January so we can go back when interest rates have fallen to more sustainable levels?

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