Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

What is most interesting about what the Minister has said is what he did not say in response to the direct question I put to him, which was whether he unconditionally supported the report produced by the Comptroller and Auditor General on the sale of Project Eagle. He has refused so far to stand up and say he accepts it unconditionally. He says it would bring NAMA debt onto the books. That is complete nonsense. We are looking for him to use his powers of direction under the National Asset Management Agency Act to suspend the sale of Project Gem. He has used these powers on a number of occasions such as in the case of the Anglo Irish Bank promissory note, in respect of which he directed NAMA. We have a report from the Comptroller and Auditor General which I accept. We will find out whether the Minister accepts it. It states there was a possible loss to the taxpayer of €220 million. The Taoiseach is now saying he believes there is a need for a commission of investigation into some of the operations of NAMA, a position which is supported by us in opposition and something for which we have been arguing for a while. There are tapes which we have seen on the "Spotlight" programme on which there is talk about fixer's fees and senior people in NAMA are named as providing information on NAMA debtors and potential bidders. For the Minister to say there is no issue relating to the integrity of decision-making in NAMA is farcical. He must intervene on behalf of the taxpayer to make sure the sale is suspended until we sort out this issue and reach a clear conclusion on the matters at hand.

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