Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I am giving this matter the attention I feel it deserves. We are talking about an organ of the State. There is a moral requirement on NAMA to act in the interests of the taxpayer. The revelation that NAMA is paying huge sums of money to developers makes it difficult for ordinary people who think reasonably to accept or have any faith in the NAMA process. Like everybody else in this House, I understand the mess this Government has inherited. There is a huge sense of irony - it is almost an injustice - in the fact that some of those who got us into this mess are being paid so much money. When I asked at a meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts why this is happening, I was told the people in question managed multi-billion euro property portfolios. Surely the portfolios in question were mismanaged. It is difficult for ordinary working people to be expected to shoulder the pain that next month's budget will inevitably inflict on them when this kind of thing is going on. I ask, in the interests of fairness, that we keep this matter under constant review. It is almost unthinkable that our national Parliament has no jurisdiction over the ability of a board of an organ of the State to make decisions on salary levels. I urge the Minister and the Government to keep this matter under review. I will revisit it in the new year. I thank the Minister of State for his response.

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