Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It was not easy to listen to the two Ministers tell us how wonderful and fair the Government had been. It reminded me of listening to Jose Mourinho tell us that Chelsea was still the best team and that he was the best manager, despite the fact that they were still losing football matches.

It has been obvious for a while now that the Taoiseach does not want to have an inquiry into the workings of NAMA, despite all the unanswered questions. Looking at the budget, I can see why. Given NAMA's new role as a State-sponsored developer, I do not think the Taoiseach or the Minister for Finance would want NAMA to be investigated. They certainly would not like the answers they would get if there was to be an independent inquiry.

NAMA is now going to operate as a developer. It was set up as a bad bank that would hold assets until there was a recovery and it has had fire sales to kingdom come. It has supplied 1,400 social housing units, despite promises to provide more. These are the people who are going to provide a social dividend and it is hard to credit that we are going to trust them to solve the housing crisis. The housing and homelessness crisis is worse now than when the Government parties came to power. What have they done to address it? Their failure to properly deal with the crisis will go down as a disgrace. I do not understand the manner of their approach. NAMA will operate as a developer and given that its allocation of social housing units will be only 10%, these units will be for the private sector. Will NAMA sell them to US vulture funds which, in turn, will rent them to people who, in turn, will have to receive a rent supplement from the Government to pay for them? In that way, the Government will be giving an indirect subsidy to landlords. Is that what will happen? Some 20,000 units will be built at a cost of €4.5 billion, which works out at an average cost of €225,000 each and that is not counting the cost of land which NAMA already possesses. Half of the units included in Project Arrow are residential. I would like to know for how much these residential units will be sold? I will bet with any of the Deputies opposite that NAMA will not get €100,000 each for them. Where is the sense in the Government selling Project Arrow to another US vulture fund that will drive up rental and house prices in this city? The Government will not solve the housing crisis until it organises for the State, through the local authorities, to build social housing. If it does not organise for the building of social housing, it will not deal with the homeless crisis.

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