Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Question 91: To ask the Minister for Finance if there is a register of persons who have received payments or support from the National Assets Management Agency; the persons who have access to such a register; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17928/11]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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NAMA informs me that there is no register of persons who have received payments from the Agency. In the normal course of its operations, NAMA advances funds to debtors for working capital purposes or to enable projects to be completed. Over €800m has been advanced to debtors for these purposes since March 2010.

NAMA cannot disclose the names of individual debtors because companies and individuals whose loans have transferred to NAMA and who are meeting their obligations are entitled to have this information kept confidential. NAMA is prohibited under Section 202 of the Act from disclosing confidential information, relating to debtors. Furthermore, Section 99 of the Act provides that, on acquisition of a loan, NAMA takes over the obligations of the participating institution under the loan, one of which is the contractual duty of confidentiality which the debtor enjoyed while still a customer of the participating institution. Information about individual debtors or guarantors is also protected against disclosure by the Data Protection Acts with which NAMA must comply as a data controller.

NAMA also makes payments to service providers who provide services to it, including the participating institutions as servicers of NAMA loans, property valuers, law firms and loan valuers, among others. A list of service providers who have been appointed to NAMA panels is available on www.nama.ie. Each of these panels has been established following public procurement processes which are designed to obtain the most competitive fee pricing arrangements for the services concerned.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Question 92: To ask the Minister for Finance the number of persons who have previously been declared bankrupt who are receiving support of payments from the National Assets Management Agency; the level of support or payment each person has received for their business broken down on a monthly basis since the establishment of NAMA; the location of these businesses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17929/11]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I assume that the Deputy is referring to NAMA debtors.

A register of bankrupts is available at the Office of the Examiner of the High Court and I am advised by NAMA that bankruptcy searches are carried out by NAMA as a matter of course on any personal borrower/guarantor prior to the advance of new funds or on a restructure. Bankruptcy searches are also carried out prior to loan acquisition. If a debtor becomes bankrupt subsequently, NAMA is informed because of its status as a secured lender.

NAMA cannot disclose the names or details of individual debtors because companies and individuals whose loans have transferred to NAMA and who are meeting their obligations are entitled to have this information kept confidential. I am informed by NAMA that in the case of debtors who have received advances from the agency for working or development capital purposes since March 2010, no information is publicly available on whether any of the debtors involved have previously been declared bankrupt. As regards discharged bankrupts, NAMA advises me that as long as a debtor is complying with their obligations to NAMA both under the NAMA Act and under the terms and conditions of their agreed business plan, the Agency does not concern itself whether that debtor is a discharged bankrupt or not.

NAMA has a commercial remit to manage its portfolio of over €70 billion in nominal terms and it has to consider, on a case-by-case basis, whether it is better to leave a debtor in place to manage his business or to appoint an insolvency expert. Should NAMA not be satisfied as regards the viability of a debtor or should the debtor fail to co-operate fully with NAMA, the agency will take enforcement action against the debtor. To date it has approved the appointment of 57 receivers.