Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy has raised several issues which have been commented on in the public for the past period. It is important to bear in mind that there are two jurisdictions involved. What he is talking about in respect of the issue in Northern Ireland is being examined by the Law Society of Northern Ireland while the National Crime Agency in the United Kingdom has recently confirmed that it is investigating allegations of corruption. The Minister for Finance and NAMA have welcomed these investigations.

The Deputy is well aware that the Committee of Public Accounts and the Comptroller and Auditor General’s office are the accountable bodies for NAMA. They should be allowed to investigate any issue that arises. Last week personnel from NAMA were before the Committee of Public Accounts which is chaired by Deputy John McGuinness, at which they issued statements and answered questions.

The Northern Ireland portfolio was sold for €1.5 billion because that was what the properties securing loans were worth. The original amount was €5.7 billion, lent by the banks prior to NAMA’s establishment, but it had no relevance to the current value of the underlying property security. The Minister for Finance has outlined the chronology of what happened. When it was brought to his attention in respect of a company called Pimco, it obviously withdrew because he saw that it did not go any further. This matter is being investigated by the Northern Ireland Assembly’s finance committee. Both the Law Society of Northern Ireland and the National Crime Agency in the United Kingdom are investigating allegations of corruption.

In so far as NAMA is concerned, the procedures and chronology have been outlined by the NAMA personnel who attended the Committee of Public Accounts last week. As the Deputy is also aware, there are personnel from the Comptroller and Auditor General’s office on the board of NAMA with access to all of the papers and documentation. Their responsibility is to audit the accounts. They have issued four reports so far which have been deemed to be positive.

Regarding the National Crime Agency's investigation in the United Kingdom, the only potential illegal activity of which we are aware is the diversion of funds due to a Northern Ireland law firm. The allegations raised in the House by Deputies are being taken very seriously by the authorities best placed to investigate them. The Northern Ireland firm in question, Tughans, has referred the alleged diversion of funds by one of its partners to the Law Society of Northern Ireland for investigation. The National Crime Agency in the United Kingdom has confirmed that it is to investigate the allegations of corruption. This specialised force has a national and international reach, with a mandate and powers to work in partnership with other law enforcement organisations to tackle organised and economic crime. The Minister for Finance and NAMA have welcomed this investigation.

NAMA has a remit, namely, to get the best value for the taxpayer.

Its remit has been expedited in that quite a deal of the properties that were in its portfolio have been moved on.

The fact is there are no claims of wrongdoing against NAMA. They paid no moneys to and had no relationship with any party on this particular loan sale against whom any allegations of wrongdoings are now being made and the portfolio was sold following the open process to the highest bidder for what it was worth.

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