Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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70. To ask the Minister for Finance the reason no effort was made on his part under section 14 of the National Asset Management Agency Act, or other similar provisions of that Act, to delay the sale of lands by the National Asset Management Agency at Lucan, County Dublin (details supplied) in view of the evident benefit to the State of retaining public ownership of said lands in and adjacent to an ecologically sensitive and protected natural amenity in the Liffey valley; if options to designate the lands as protected had been explored by his Department prior to the sale; if he will commit to consultation with his colleagues in the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in order to pursue the matter further at this point; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41672/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I refer the Deputy to my previous answer to Question 181 on the 1/10/13. It would not be appropriate for me to comment further on an individual property or transaction. On the general social dividend point, Section 10 of the NAMA Act statutorily obliges NAMA to 'obtain the best achievable return for the State' from the management or its acquired loan portfolio. NAMA is obliged to carry out its functions in the context of the overriding commercial objective provided for by Section 10 of the Act and to recover the greatest amount possible for the taxpayer from the sale of loans and properties securing its loans.

As part of ensuring this, it is NAMA's clear policy that properties and loans that are for sale are openly marketed. This ensures a competitive and transparent sales process and the best possible financial returns for the taxpayer. Importantly however, the NAMA Board has committed to giving first refusal to any public authority, including Government departments, State agencies and local authorities, in respect of the purchase of property from NAMA debtors and receivers which may be suitable for their purposes. In line with this commitment, NAMA has accommodated the release of lands and property for schools, health care facilities, community and recreational amenities and other uses. Examples include:

- The identification of 4,350 houses and apartments for social housing

- The identification of more than 70 sites as potentially suitable for new schools

- The sale of sites to University College Dublin and University College Cork

- The sale of the Opera Centre site in Limerick to Limerick City Council

- The release of lands in Baldoyle, north Co. Dublin to Fingal County Council for parkland

- Co-funding, with Fingal County Council, of an N2-N3 link road through lands in west Dublin to facilitate identified development requirements.

NAMA is also engaging with the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive in relation to possible sites and buildings for primary health care centres and other step-down and community health care facilities.

The Agency, therefore, whilst working to obtain the best achievable financial return for the taxpayer, is very open to realistic proposals that achieve desirable social objectives and there are numerous examples of this. In addition to NAMA's on-going engagement with public bodies in relation to specific initiatives, such as social housing, it is open to any public body to identify its interest in lands and property securing the Agency's loans.

I believe the approach determined by NAMA's Board is contributing in terms of its primary commercial objective, while at the same time contributing to the achievement of wider public policy objectives.