Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

Senator Quinn should not feel so strongly about not supporting this amendment because when one considers the amount of assets that NAMA will control, there will be plenty of opportunity for the Minister to look after the sort of organisations we are discussing. The Minister will deal with property worth €54 billion and there is more than ample scope for him to use a small proportion of that in this way. We will spend 0.1% of that sum to set up a special purpose vehicle to run NAMA. If the same sum was invested in the organisations covered by these amendments it would make a significant difference. Senator Quinn could support this proposal because it does not require giving a large amount of the NAMA assets to these organisations but rather a small percentage of the total assets which would have a disproportionately positive impact on the affected communities.

We should all support this amendment. Senators Mullen and O'Toole may experience some personal embarrassment if this amendment is pushed to a vote and they have to vote with this side of the House, if Senator Quinn also stayed with us.