Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for the reply. Can the Minister confirm that the estimated financial surplus at the end of NAMA's work is approximately €2 billion? NAMA paid approximately €32 billion for loans with a total book value of €74 billion. The fact that NAMA plans to support the construction of 20,000 homes on a commercial basis by 2020 is to be welcomed, provided it does not become a recipe for high cost housing and a source of huge financial returns for professional advisers. These homes are needed and will probably represent only approximately one fifth of the total number of extra homes that will be needed over the period.

Is NAMA moving from being an asset management agency to development agency? Does the Minister still envisage that it will complete its work by 2020 or even sooner, or does he envisage a longer-term role for NAMA as a development agency as opposed to what was originally intended?

See this speech in context