Results 32,641-32,660 of 33,139 for speaker:Catherine Connolly
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)
Catherine Connolly: That is two of the expert advisers brought forward by NAMA, but they were already conflicted.
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)
Catherine Connolly: The Comptroller and Auditor General has already said he did not have a difficulty.
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)
Catherine Connolly: Finally, the Comptroller and Auditor General noted in his report that this was a strategy change. Is it correct that it was a fundamental change in policy, that they decided to-----
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)
Catherine Connolly: In the context of the briefing notes, the minutes and what was on the website for the Northern Ireland advisory committee, it was repeatedly pointed out that Northern politicians did not want fire sales. Is it correct that NAMA reassured them continually that it was operating on a careful basis?
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)
Catherine Connolly: Then, suddenly, there was a change of policy. Would the Comptroller and Auditor General concur with my use of the word "suddenly"?
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)
Catherine Connolly: A fundamental change in policy?
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)
Catherine Connolly: Okay. There is evidence that they were selling off. By 2012, they had sold €100 million worth of property. So there was movement in the market.
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)
Catherine Connolly: On page 70 of the Comptroller and Auditor General's report, there is an extract from European Real Estate Loan Sales Market, February 2014. It speaks of the market going up. Is it correct that it speaks of there being more interest at the time from investors in smaller packages?
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)
Catherine Connolly: So that is a positive report with regard to the market changing.
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)
Catherine Connolly: On that point, on page 133 of the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General - this is a reproduction of page 3 of the proceedings of the NAMA board meeting held on 10 October - there is an acknowledgement from PIMCO to the effect that "the NI economy has "bottomed out"".
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)
Catherine Connolly: They go on to say that they "wanted exposure to capitalise on future growth/recovery". Therefore, they were anticipating future growth and recovery. Is it correct that they were anticipating selling off what they bought?
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)
Catherine Connolly: Is it correct that they were anticipating selling off that relatively quickly?
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)
Catherine Connolly: To make a profit?
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)
Catherine Connolly: That goes totally against all I read here in the briefing documents that there would be no fire sale and they would look in terms of suiting the Northern economy. They also acknowledge that two thirds of the debtors were working with them. There was a comment here, referring to NAMA, that the debtors were not working with them but in the briefing documents, they acknowledge that the...
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)
Catherine Connolly: We have that and then we have this extraordinary decision to change policy and sell-off assets in a portfolio and at a probable loss to the taxpayer of €190 million. The latter was in addition to all the other losses that the taxpayer incurred.
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)
Catherine Connolly: We have an opening statement.
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)
Catherine Connolly: We have an opening statement and we stuck to a format. Now we are going off that.
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)
Catherine Connolly: On a point of order. I ask Mr. Daly to stick to what he has given us for the moment because all of these speakers will speak and we have a limited time to come back. We also have to address what he said in his opening statement. If he has withdrawn it, that is fine. We should have the opening statement; that was the procedure to be-----
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)
Catherine Connolly: I am not sure if the break has helped my concentration, but I hope that it has helped that of the witnesses. I thank them for attending and giving us an opportunity to question them. Mr. Daly stated that he had watched this upstairs. I appreciate that he got a room. He stated that, for the most part, this had been fair with some exceptions. What did he mean by that?
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)
Catherine Connolly: Mr. Daly said that the process, as he watched it, had been fair - indeed, he praised the Comptroller and Auditor General for his fairness - but with some exceptions. What did he mean by that?