Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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184. To ask the Minister for Finance the proposals he has or if he will consider changing the National Asset Management Agency's policy of property disposal, that is to reverse the policy of selling large blocks of property en masse and to allow the sale of individual units as part of an initiative to make more housing available for purchase and rent, particularly in Dublin city; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32989/14]

Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour)
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205. To ask the Minister for Finance his views that the National Asset Management Agency should consider selling properties individually or in smaller groups as the demand for property grows in view of the fact that the need to sell to investment firms is dissipating in recent months as demand grows. [33290/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 184 and 205 together.

The strong improvement in conditions in the Irish commercial and residential property markets over the past year created opportunities for NAMA to increase the flow of Irish property assets and loan sales to the market. Earlier this year, NAMA announced that, in line with its obligations under Section 10 of the NAMA Act, it considered that the best financial outcome for the State would be achieved through a managed process of accelerating disposals in an orderly way with the target of redeeming 80% of senior debt (a cumulative €24 billion) by end-2016. Following on from the Section 227 review of NAMA which was conducted by my Department, I endorsed NAMA's strategy of seeking to take full advantage of strong market conditions to reduce the contingent liability on taxpayers represented by NAMA's senior, State-guaranteed, bonds.

In that context, I am advised by NAMA that, in order to achieve its revised debt redemption targets, it must arrange for the sale not only of individual assets but also of portfolios of loans and property assets to investors. In addition to over 5,000 individual residential units that NAMA debtors and receivers have sold to date, assets will continue to be made available for sale, on an individual basis, to potential purchasers. NAMA's website includes a list of some 2,300 properties in Ireland which are either currently for sale or will shortly be offered for sale through receivers.

The Deputy should note that, where NAMA arranges for the sale of portfolios of apartments, these are typically rented to tenants and there is no question of such tenants being placed at any disadvantage as a result of the change of ownership. Indeed, it would not be fair or reasonable to displace tenants in order to offer the apartments for sale to purchasers as either individual units or as part of a portfolio. I would also point out that the purchasers of apartment blocks are usually large investors who tend to apply fully professional standards in their capacity as landlords.