Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise with the Taoiseach the sale of NAMA's Northern Ireland loan book, known as Project Eagle. This is the largest sale in which NAMA has engaged to date. We know from correspondence to the Minister, Deputy Noonan, at the time that even though misgivings were raised by one of the bidders - Pimco, which made NAMA aware of fee arrangements with third parties including NAMA's adviser on the Northern Ireland advisory committee - the Minister did not suggest to NAMA that the whole thing should be stopped in light of the stench that was emerging at that early stage. Of course, we know about the fee arrangements between the solicitors' firms - Brown Rudnick and Tughans - and third parties. Deputy Wallace has alluded to this in the Dáil. Again, no attempt was made stop the deal. People ticked the boxes and said they got assurances when Cerberus came in, despite the fact that they used the same solicitors' firms and the same fee arrangements to which NAMA had been alerted by Pimco. When I raised this issue with the Taoiseach in July of this year, I outlined all of my concerns. There are fundamental issues here because it involves the taxpayer. According to a report in this morning's The Irish News:

One of the bidders for Nama's northern debt portfolio expressed concern in a letter to the Taoiseach's office over the business practices of third parties leading up to the £1.2bn sale. Fortress Investment Group, [apparently] one of the final three potential buyers alongside US rivals Pimco and Cerberus Capital Management, is understood to have sent the letter to the Department of the Taoiseach in February 2014.

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