Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I cite the following words:

The allegations made in regard to Project Eagle are so serious and the integrity of the National Asset Management Agency so important that a commission must be established to investigate them.

It is also important that the ongoing investigations in the North are not hampered by their limited scope. Decisions made in Dublin should not escape scrutiny on the basis that...investigations are being carried out in the...[North which] do not have jurisdiction to consider matters which took place South of the Border... It is undoubtedly the case that a commission assessing what took place in this jurisdiction would be of great assistance to the various investigations under way in the North.

Those are the words of Deputy Michael McGrath in moving a similar motion almost six months ago. My God what a difference an election makes. Let us be very clear here. The arrest of Ronnie Hanna and Frank Cushnahan as part of a criminal investigation into Project Eagle has made the necessity of a commission of investigation more urgent, not less so, because into the heart of this matter now comes the head of asset management in Dublin in this jurisdiction blowing a hole through the arguments of the Minister, those of the Taoiseach and those of NAMA that there has been no allegations of wrongdoing against NAMA. That is not the case.

Two weeks ago Deputy Micheál Martin told the Dáil that the Government's position on NAMA was untenable. Last week here he told Deputy Wallace that Fianna Fáil would be supporting us in this motion and today we are here - why? What deal has been done with Fianna Fáil to save the Government or to save who? Fianna Fáil has absolutely no credibility in this regard any more. In essence, what Fianna Fáil is trying to do here is to say that every jurisdiction with a partial involvement in these issues can have an investigation except the jurisdiction which owns the assets and whose taxpayers are paying the price. I am sorry but that is not good enough.

Project Eagle did not even get the discounted value for which it was transferred. The assets were sold against an improving market, which is evidence that Cerberus has organised to buy back loans at a tidy little profit from them. The Irish State, at the heart of this, is not going to investigate it. Is the Securities and Exchange Commission calling off its investigations because the NCA is investigating? Of course it is not and we should not do so either.

I understand very well why the Minister and the Government has resisted at every turn the idea of a commission of investigation. Of course they would because the Minister was the one who had the power to stop it. Rather than not even stopping it, he chose to insist that it go ahead. It is worth making the point again that weeks before the deal closed PIMCO told NAMA that £15 million in a fixer's fee was there. NAMA told the Minister and he insisted that the deal would go ahead.

These critical issues about the failure of NAMA to deal with these matters and the extent of the involvement of the Department of Finance and the Minister himself must be questioned. That is even more necessary because of Ronnie Hanna. What did the Minister know, what should he have known and what does he know now? What action did he take? He did not take any. There has not been one single internal investigation in NAMA. The Minister did not report these things to the legal authorities. Now we have a situation where a fourth NAMA employee has been arrested.

The reality is that only a commission of investigation can get to the truth. Not only would it not hamper what is happening in Northern Ireland, it would assist in any potential criminal investigation. It has the wherewithal to generate more evidence which would be of assistance to the DPP. The precedent for that is the Mahon tribunal, evidence to which led to the criminal prosecution of George Redmond. Does the Minister remember the Finlay tribunal on contaminated blood supplies in a previous era? Evidence given to that tribunal led to a Garda investigation and criminal proceedings. The Fianna Fáil fail-safe of trying to hide behind the Comptroller and Auditor General, who performs value for money reviews, is absolutely reprehensible. The parties might think that between the two of them they have the numbers to block today's motion, but a Bill drafted by senior legal people in this town provides for the type of commission of investigation which should be put in place to deal with these matters. The truth will out on this. There is more dirt to come and the Government will not be able to hide behind it. Too many people have been damaged by this. People might think they have the numbers to get away with it today, but it will come back to haunt them and it will be even worse.

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