Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an mBille seo thar ceann Sinn Féin. Cuirfidh muid fáilte roimh rud ar bith a chinnteoidh go bhfuil an eagraíocht ar a dtugtar NAMA níos oscailte agus níos trédhearcaí. Tacaím le cuid mhaith den mhéid a dúirt an Seanadóir Michael D'Arcy maidir leis an imní atá ar dhaoine os rud é nach bhfuil an dream atá ciontach as an titim tubaisteach a tharla i margadh tithíochta na tíre agus, dá bhrí sin, i gcóras baincéireachta na tíre tagtha os comhair na cúirte, nach bhfuil siad á bhfeiceáil ar aghaidh na ngiúistís agus nach bhfuil ceart agus cóir agus cothrom na éinne á fháil.

I support the Bill because anything that can make NAMA more open and transparent in its dealings is welcome. Deputy Pearse Doherty introduced legislation in the Dáil to provide that the Freedom of Information Act should be brought to bear on NAMA. We need to be able to see what is going on in the organisation. Every day NAMA is dealing in billions of euro of taxpayers' money and is essentially the largest holder of State assets. It disposes of millions of euro worth of assets on average every month and yet there is very little public knowledge of its activities. NAMA costs the State more than €500,000 per day in running costs. On its payroll it has developers earning more than €200,000 and it is mired in potential conflicts of interest. NAMA does not want a spotlight shone on its activities. It is currently fighting a case against the Information Commissioner because it does not want to provide information under environmental legislation sought by an Internet blogger. This case by one arm of the State against another will cost the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of euro.

We have a number of other reasons for calling for more openness and transparency around NAMA. Many more applications were made under the previous freedom of information legislation, but with the change in the rules, that has reduced dramatically. Many people would like to find out more about what is going on. NAMA will cost the State €531,000 in operating costs every day of 2012. Since its establishment, NAMA has spent €27.5 million on legal fees and €2.5 million on audit fees.

NAMA is disposing of an average of €500 million worth of assets per month by reference to the original values of the loans, roughly €200 million by reference to what NAMA paid, and will do so at least until the end of 2013. Up to December 2011, NAMA had been disposing of assets on average worth €750 million per month, at original value, or €15.8 billion worth of loans.

NAMA has advanced millions to developers to finish projects, with €568.2 million being forwarded to developers outside the island of Ireland. Over two-thirds of NAMA properties are on the island of Ireland, yet only 41% of its cash advances are spent here. NAMA is funding development projects in Britain and Europe while Ireland is dotted with ghost estates and empty hotels. Under the original NAMA Act, the body can borrow up to €5 billion in total to loan to developers to finish projects. NAMA is paying more than 100 developers' salaries, with some earning as much as €200,000 a year. NAMA has considered the introduction of a developer incentive scheme which would allow a developer to keep a portion of an asset sale if the sale met and exceeded NAMA targets. This kind of incentivising is not in the original legislation.

A total of 16 firms have been identified by NAMA to advise it on loan sales in Europe and the US. These firms have been put onto Europe and US "panels". NAMA has admitted that several existing NAMA employees have close links with these firms and were formerly employed by them. The newly appointed head of asset management in NAMA is a former chairman and managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle, JLLS. JLLS is on both advisory panels. Other firms listed on the panels include Ernst & Young, Goldman Sachs, KPMG and UBS.

NAMA is using an "effective interest rate" methodology to calculate interest payments in its quarterly accounts. This method assumes interest repayments rather than allowing for actual interest repayments and can overstate profits, delivering a misleading picture to the general public about NAMA operations; for example, in its third quarter reporting in 2011, NAMA reported €255 million in interest payments, whereas only €175 million was received. Given the continued decline in property prices and worsening economic conditions, there is no way of knowing how loans will continue to perform, so estimating interest that may come in is hardly advisable.

The Minister has appointed an additional advisory group to advise him on the future strategic direction of NAMA. It is unclear whether this group will just act as a conduit to the Minister on the strategic direction of NAMA or actively direct NAMA on strategy. NAMA is not effectively managing conflicts of interest. It appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers, PWC, to advise it on bad loans. PWC was then appointed as a receiver to Treasury Holdings against which NAMA is currently fighting a court case. PWC is a tenant of a Treasury Holdings building which is listed as security for loans held by NAMA. NAMA claims it has protected against conflict of interest by appointing Ernst & Young as a receiver to the Treasury Holdings building in which PWC is resident.

Ernst & Young were auditors to Anglo Irish Bank. During their role as auditors they failed to detect and report massive loans to directors as well as the massive window dressing arrangement of €8.2 billion with Irish Permanent TSB which was used to improve Anglo Irish Bank's balance sheet at year end. They also stood over accounts that showed a profit for the bank. Consequently, Ernst & Young are being investigated for their role in the Anglo Irish Bank debacle. As a result of their involvement in Anglo Irish Bank, the Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board, CARB, commenced an investigation into Ernst & Young in 2009. The investigation was led by the former Comptroller and Auditor General, John Purcell. Ernst & Young attempted to block this investigation through the courts but were unsuccessful. In September 2011, the CARB investigation concluded that Ernst & Young do, on the face of it, have a case to answer in respect of their involvement in the Anglo Irish Bank debacle. However, criminal investigations into Anglo Irish Bank have meant that the Director of Public Prosecutions has asked that the investigations be held off until his work is complete.

In a separate matter, NAMA has appointed a senior legal figure to fight a case against the State's Information Commissioner, on the basis of an Internet blogger seeking information from NAMA under environmental legislation. The senior legal figure is currently representing Treasury Holdings against NAMA. NAMA is actively fighting another arm of the State, with taxpayers' money being spent on both sides, to stop information about it being available under freedom of information legislation.

Cuireann Sinn Féin fáilte roimh rud ar bith a thacaíonn le trédhearcacht NAMA. Fáiltímid roimh an mBille atá curtha ar aghaidh ag an tSeanadóir Daly agus beimid ag tacú leis. Tá súil agam go dtiocfaidh sé chun cinn chomh tapaidh agus is féidir.