Written answers

Tuesday, 21 June 2016

Department of Finance

NAMA Communications

Photo of Clare DalyClare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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151. To ask the Minister for Finance the steps the National Asset Management Agency is obliged to take should it come to its attention that a person has lobbied it regarding a transaction on behalf of a person with whom the person has a business relationship. [17284/16]

Photo of Clare DalyClare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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152. To ask the Minister for Finance if it is permissible for public representatives to lobby the National Asset Management Agency on behalf of persons with whom they have a business relationship without disclosing that relationship to the agency. [17285/16]

Photo of Michael NoonanMichael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 151 and 152 together.

Section 221 of the NAMA Act makes it an offence to lobby NAMA and an offence to not report such lobbying to the Gardai.  

The section of the Act sets out what is meant by lobbying and contains explicit provisions regarding communication with NAMA in an individual's professional capacity or in the public interest. 

Section 221(5) of the NAMA Act sets out that any person who believes that he or she has been communicated with in contravention of Section 221 must report "that the communication was made, the details of the communication made, and the name of the person who communicated with him or her, to a member of the Garda Síochána".  A person who fails to comply with Section 221(5) commits an offence.

In accordance with Section 221, NAMA seeks to facilitate public representatives in raising constituency-related queries directly with NAMA.  In this respect NAMA operates a dedicated email address, oir@nama.ie, through which Deputies and Senators can directly communicate with it in the course of their public duty.

NAMA has no way of knowing the nature of any relationship between public representatives and their correspondents and, in that context, is obliged to treat queries from public representatives as bona fide representations.  In circumstances where a public representative fails to disclose a relationship to NAMA, or is seeking to influence NAMA commercial decision-making process in order to give preferential treatment to an individual, or individuals, and to the detriment of taxpayers in general, NAMA is obliged to consider that the representative is in breach of Section 221 of the Act.

I am advised by NAMA that the Agency does not believe that any of its engagements with public representatives to date could be considered as a breach of Section 221 of the NAMA Act. 

More generally, NAMA is also defined as a "public service body" under Section 7 of the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015. This Act outlines the requirements for individuals involved in lobbying. Depending on the circumstances, individuals involved in lobbying may need to register on the Register of Lobbying website, and/or provide information to the Standards Commission about lobbying activities three times a year. The offences related to relevant contraventions are outlined in Section 20 of the Regulation of Lobbying Act. 

Further information, including the definition of lobbying, is available fromwww.lobbying.ie.

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