Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

The man who the Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh, advised. It will be the same in this case. It will be in the small matters, when we are trying to get through the nitty-gritty of NAMA, that we will see the problems arise and I ask the Minister of State to discuss those as much as possible so that we can get a good sense of what is happening.

When the Minister speaks about this over the coming months one of the first points to clarify is the amount of property which is completely toxic. In other words, let us look at some of the half built housing estates and industrial estates on the edge of provincial towns that are closed up where the sites have been sealed off. In reality, one cannot see those houses being sold for a decade. This can be kept in an historical context. Senators from certain parts of the country know of half-derelict building sites and housing estates that were started during previous booms because people expected businesses to enter the areas or the towns had businesses. Some expected that areas were going to become the new Costa del Sol, so new chalets were built. The country used to be littered with such sites, but nothing on the current scale. Many half-built estates are of little or no value to anyone. What percentage of NAMA's assets will comprise such sites? Will the Minister of State address my concerns in his response?