Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 228: To ask the Minister for Finance the role of Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General in relation to overseeing the National Assets Management Agency property sales; if he will provide details of the qualifications and experience which enable relevant personnel at the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General to form a view on the merits of individual property and loan sales agreed or approved by NAMA; the qualifications and experience these personnel have in asset management, loan sales and real estate sales. [27958/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I understand that in auditing the financial statements of NAMA, the C&AG reviews the controls, processes and procedures in place in NAMA, including those designed to ensure that transactions achieve the best possible value for the taxpayer and are properly approved in accordance with NAMA's governance framework. In a special report completed in February of this year, the C&AG reported on the arrangements in place in NAMA in relation to sales of property by debtors and insolvency practitioners. I am advised by the office of the C&AG that in situations where specific expertise is required for purposes of carrying out audits and examinations and such expertise is not available in the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Office procures the services of appropriately qualified and experienced experts on a consultancy basis.

The Comptroller and Auditor General's (C&AG) role is to audit the performance and accounts of NAMA in accordance with the NAMA Act 2009 and the C&AG Act 1993. The C&AG does not have a role in overseeing transactions undertaken by or on behalf of the National Asset Management Agency on a day-to-day basis or in overseeing the terms of granting or refusing approval for specific transactions.