Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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240. To ask the Minister for Finance the date on which he will make National Asset Management Agency's 2015 management accounts available to the public; and the reason for the delay in their release, given that his Department received the 2015 accounts two months ago. [12628/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I would wish to point out that I received NAMA's 2015 Annual Report and Accounts on 12th May 2016. This is less than 3 weeks ago, rather than the two months suggested by the Deputy.

As the Deputy will be aware, NAMA is required to submit its annual accounts to me following the Comptroller and Auditor General's (C&AG) audit of those accounts. Thus, prior to submitting to me, NAMA is required to submit its accounts to the C&AG for auditing within two months of year end. Given the extent of information which NAMA is required to prepare, as prescribed by Section 54 of the NAMA Act, and the subsequent comprehensive audit carried out by the C&AG, I do not see the above lead time as extensive.

My intention is to lay the Annual Report and Accounts before the Houses of the Oireachtas, and in doing so make them available it to the public, on Wednesday 8th June 2016, coinciding with NAMA's formal launch of the Report. This publication date is in line with the turnaround of previous Annual Reports and Accounts and, therefore, there has been no delay in the release.

In the interim, I would refer the Deputy to NAMA's 2015 Year End Review, which gives an overview of last year's key figures, highlights and achievements. This update was published on 5th January 2016 and is available on the NAMA website via:

In referencing management accounts being received by my Department two months ago, the Deputy may be referring to NAMA's Report and Accounts for Q4 2015, which were received on 31 March 2016. These unaudited quarterly reports and accounts are required to be submitted to me, by NAMA, within 3 months after the end of the relevant quarter. I, as Minister, lay the reports before the Houses shortly thereafter - usually within a matter of weeks. However, as has been the practise in previous years, NAMA's 2015 Q4 accounts are to be published at the same time as the Annual Report on 8th June 2016.

I trust this reassures the Deputy that the publication of NAMA's 2015 Annual Report and Accounts has not been delayed, while also outlining the difference between NAMA's Annual and Quarterly Accounts.