Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The point is that NAMA and the sales process are being questioned. We need to be able to facilitate NAMA appearing in Belfast before the relevant committee in Stormont so that it can defend its integrity and stand over the sales process. The integrity of the organisation should not be undermined. If the sales process has gone through with probity, why would NAMA officials fear appearing before the Stormont investigation?

There are many competing interests in the North that want to keep this going and keep undermining the process. There is a lot to be gained on either side politically, and also in the context of developers. We owe it to NAMA to facilitate its appearance before the committee so that it can vindicate and stand over the sales process. That is the core of the issue.

A lot of nonsense has been expressed about the historical problems but NAMA has been established in this State for one purpose and that is to clean up the bad banking system and dispose of assets. It is in all the primary legislation to which the Tánaiste referred. Purchasing loans back is illegal and cannot be done. It is wrong. The prohibitions on politicians making representations is also in the legislation. This has nothing to do with the core issue, which is that allegations were made by Deputies in this House and elsewhere that bungs were paid to facilitate the purchase of loan books from NAMA.

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