Results 2,841-2,860 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Michael Noonan: It was the meeting at Stormont in January 2014.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Michael Noonan: My statement that I never advocated an exclusive bidder has been challenged by the Deputy. I refer to the minute of the meeting taken on my side. It states the Minister confirmed that NAMA would be a willing seller of its Northern Ireland assets at an appropriate price having undertaken an appropriate sales process. The Minister explained that NAMA avoids bilateral sales processes as not...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy is right, but it is more extensive than that. The Comptroller and Auditor General produces an annual report, which goes to the Government and is published before the Dáil. It produces quarterly reports. Some of the Comptroller and Auditor General staff are embedded in NAMA and can review matters on an ongoing basis. Obviously the Comptroller and Auditor General holds NAMA...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Michael Noonan: While NAMA is operating in accordance with law I cannot interfere in any way as a Minister in the commercial decisions or commercial processes undertaken by NAMA but if, on the other hand, something totally untoward happened there is power in the Act for the Minister to intervene to ensure the purposes of the Act are fulfilled. One of the purposes of the Act is to get best value for the taxpayer.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Michael Noonan: As I said I was concerned, as anyone would be. I am sure if the Deputy were in similar circumstances he would be concerned as well, but it was PIMCO, the proposed purchaser, that had promised to pay some money to Mr. Cushnahan and others, after their dialogue with NAMA, but it withdrew from the sales process so it was off the pitch. As a consequence, that alleviated my concern. If NAMA had...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Michael Noonan: I did not know about it until very recently, but Mr. Reid has pointed out that in the sale of loan books this can happen quite frequently, because a lot of work is done by professional advisers and it is in the interests of a new purchaser and in the interests of the professional advisers to move their expertise on, but I was not involved and I was not aware of the position. What I was aware...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Michael Noonan: As I explained on a number of occasions, as Minister I am never involved in the commercial dealings or commercial processes. While I get information at a primary colours level, I would not know the detail of a sale. It had been brought to my attention by NAMA that the advisers moved to the next potential successful bidder. I am not sure if Mr. Reid was there at that time, but he might...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Michael Noonan: In so far as the criminal investigations are concerned, they are there because there are allegations of illegality and they are investigating those. There is the National Crime Agency, NCA, investigation in the UK and there is also a report to the Garda. That is where the wrongdoing is. There is no suggestion in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General that NAMA acted illegally or...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Michael Noonan: I understand that is scientifically incorrect.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Michael Noonan: What report?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Michael Noonan: Is that the committee in Northern Ireland?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Michael Noonan: I know.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Michael Noonan: The man who ran that inquiry has now resigned on the charge that he coached a witness to make damaging allegations against Peter Robinson so perhaps everything in the report is accurate but it is difficult enough to take it seriously when the Sinn Féin chairman is no longer even a member of Sinn Féin. I understand that he either resigned or was expelled. The issue involved the...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Michael Noonan: That is a misunderstanding of the powers of the Minister under the Act.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Michael Noonan: The power of the Minister under the Act is to issue directives to fulfil the purposes of the Act as intended by Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann. The Minister does not have the power to interfere in commercial decisions and this was a commercial decision by the board of NAMA.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Michael Noonan: I do not know. I would have thought that the people of Northern Ireland would have known about it as soon as I knew about it. I am not too sure what the reference is. PIMCO withdrew from the sale.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Michael Noonan: Of course, they are. They are political charges.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Michael Noonan: NAMA is independent. It is up to the NAMA board to-----

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Michael Noonan: I thank the Deputy for bringing it up because we all have the ability to refute it.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Michael Noonan: I do. I will let Ms Nolan contribute in a minute. NAMA was supposed to end its activities in 2020. If all loans were worked out to 2020, there would be a firesale of potentially €13 billion in assets in the last year of its operation. That would not make sense.