Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 265: To ask the Minister for Finance the actions he has taken and those he proposes to take in relation to his stated policy of pursuing to the ends of the earth those that have transferred property and have loans in the National Asset Management Agency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1076/11]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware that the Chairman of NAMA has recently outlined a range of measures which the Agency is adopting in its drive to ensure that debtors meet their obligations. In return for NAMA's ongoing support, NAMA requests from Debtors significant lifestyle changes, the reversal of asset transfers and the granting to NAMA of legal charges over unencumbered assets. I am informed that three debtors have already agreed to the reversal of some €130m in asset transfers as part of their business plan review with NAMA.

In relation to asset transfers, in circumstances where it is obvious that the purpose of an asset transfer, whether to a spouse or otherwise, was a pre-emptive attempt to put assets beyond the reach of NAMA, NAMA has a number of statutory remedies available to it. These include the provisions of the Conveyancing Act, the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 and Section 211 of the NAMA Act which provides that NAMA may apply to a Court to declare a disposition to be void if it can show that the effect of the disposition was to impair the value of an eligible bank asset or any rights that NAMA would have acquired but for the disposition.

Ultimately, where the evidence available to NAMA is that a debtor has failed, as part of a sworn statement, to disclose all his assets as part of the debtor business plan process, he will be faced with very serious consequences as it would be an offence under section 7 of the NAMA Act. NAMA has made it very clear that it will not work with debtors who fail to co-operate fully and openly with it. NAMA will also pursue through the courts debtors who fail to co-operate with it in terms of agreeing to the reversal of asset transfers or to the granting of legal charges over unencumbered assets where NAMA believes that assets were intentionally put beyond its reach.