Feargal Quinn (Independent)

He is. He was very positive. He talked about the alternatives but he seemed to support the Government's approach. He did not necessarily say he supported it, but he said he understood what the Minister was doing and asked about it in a logical way.

There is a widespread view that NAMA will estimate the long-term value of the banks at €90 billion worth of development loans and that it will value them at somewhere between €60 billion to €70 billion. Under this scheme NAMA would pay €63 billion for the loans with the banks able to get back the €7 billion difference if it turns out that the loans have value. Much thought has gone into NAMA and many questions have been asked about it. I am not sure why it is taking so long to set it up. Dr. Michael Somers had queries last week that must have sent shivers up those who listened to him. I am now supportive of NAMA. The Minister seemed to have an open mind today about taking suggestions into account to ensure it is even better controlled than it might otherwise have been.