Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The aspect of Project Eagle with which I have the most difficulty is the way the assets have been bundled. A possible reason is that the Government has shortened the life span during which the assets should be disposed of. It may well that something is driving this. Unfortunately, a self-selecting group will be the only ones free to make a bid. By treating the assets that way, it is very difficult to see how the benefit of the assets will be fully retrieved for the people who are carrying the can, namely, the citizens of the State.

There has to be an inquiry. The number of issues identified have caused a real loss of public confidence, even though there was not much confidence in the first place due to the controversies involved. Project Arrow needs to be halted, not least because on the one hand the Government said NAMA will produce a large number of houses in the next few years while at the same time the assets have been bundled in order to be sold. They can then have the advantage of driving up rents if they are sold to a small exclusive group. There are serious problems and the calls for a public inquiry or a commission of investigation are well made.

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