Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

If, to quote the Minister, "the Minister for Finance is completely cut off", why did the latter meet Cerberus the day before the deal on Project Eagle went through? Why did he say in the House only a few weeks ago that, in his view, there did not seem to be adequate grounds for a commission? That does not suggest to me that the Minister is "completely cut off". The question is one of whether NAMA delivered the best return possible on taxpayers' money. In the view of the Comptroller and Auditor General, our spending watchdog, it did not. The notion that the Minister could be cut off fails in that instance. In fact, taxpayers have been failed. We need answers.

I welcome the commitment by the Minister, Deputy Bruton that the commission will be established. We expect the Committee of Public Accounts to publish its report within the next fortnight. On that basis, how quickly will the Government move to establish the commission?

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