Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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260. To ask the Minister for Finance if a dividend payment from NAMA to the Exchequer is treated as a financial transaction or if it improves the general Government balance; when he expects to receive a dividend from NAMA arising from the expected surplus; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27360/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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NAMA expects to repay its outstanding guaranteed senior debt of €500m by the end of 2017 and to redeem its subordinated debt in March 2020. NAMA will focus on completing its ongoing deleveraging, its Dublin Docklands SDZ and residential funding programmes in the interim period to 2020. NAMA's 2016 Annual Report was laid before the Oireachtas on 1 June 2017 and provides further insight into the Agency's expectations regarding these activities. The report is also available on NAMA's website via: .

It is through the successful completion of these objectives that NAMA anticipates a surplus in the region of €3bn (revised upwards from €2.3bn), which will be returned to the State once it completes it work.

As per section 60(2) of the NAMA Act 2009, NAMA may use surplus funds to redeem and cancel its debt. Surplus funds may only be returned to the Central Fund once NAMA's debt has been redeemed in full.

As has been discussed with Eurostat, from an accounting perspective, once the senior debt, subordinated debt, and private investors have been repaid then NAMA (the Agency), which is in Government, would be the sole shareholder and, as such, NAMA (the SPV) would then become classified into the Government sector. This is expected to occur in 2020, no later than the time at which the private shareholders have been fully compensated. At this point in time NAMA will have no debt.

As such, there is no impact on the general government balance.