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Irish Independent
21-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
‘I am not a political person, I did not seek this role' – Nama boss Brendan McDonagh appears before Dáil committee amid housing tsar controversy
Mr McDonagh, who is paid €430,000 as CEO of the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), said the public was entitled to ask questions, but there had been no discussion with the minister over what his salary would be. Mr McDonagh told the Oireachtas Committee on Finance that the first time he met with the Housing Minister to discuss the position of chief executive for the new Housing Activation Office was in April. 'I'm not prepared to discuss the details of my contract. My salary is publicly disclosed,' Mr McDonagh said, adding that he had waived an annual bonus every year since his appointment. He refused to answer questions about his 'personal' affairs, such as reports that he is renting out a house in Cabra for €10,000 a week. Mr McDonagh insisted, however, that he was making 'all relevant disclosures' as required. 'There does come a point when matters are private, and I reserve my position,' he said. He said he fully accepted he was 'very well paid', but argued he had returned 'value for money' through a surplus of billions returned to the taxpayer. Mr McDonagh said he was not a public representative, but had decided not to go forward because 'why would I be kicked around like a political football? I did not seek this role'. He spoke about the approach to him by Housing Minister James Browne about the job of so-called housing tsar, that was first mediated by the secretary general of the Department of Housing. 'The first time I met the secretary general was on April 10, and we had a general discussion,' he said. ADVERTISEMENT 'He subsequently called to invite me to meet Minister Browne on April 16, the Wednesday before Easter weekend. 'Minister Browne outlined that's what he wanted the CEO [of the new Housing Activiation Office] to do. And I should add, this was not a role I sought or ever canvassed for. I want to be absolutely clear about that. 'But Mr Browne said: 'Your name has been mentioned in many circles as being somebody who might have appropriate skills to help. Would you be prepared to let me propose your name to the Cabinet sub-committee and the Government?' 'After talking with him, I agreed, and that was my only discussion about the role, which was with Minister Browne. 'I had no other contact with any other members of the political system. On May 1, given there was lots of public controversy about me and the role – I am not a political person, I'm apolitical – I really felt I didn't want to be part of that. 'I'm a professional. I believe I'm a public servant, and I didn't want the story to be all about me. So I advised the minister on May 1 that I really wasn't interested. "Because, to be honest, everybody who knows me, I'm very straightforward. I made the decision. 'We are all affected by the housing crisis. We all have kids. And I thought I had something to offer.' The nomination was torpedoed when Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris said he would prefer the name had not emerged in public before Government discussion of it. He was answering Ged Nash of the Labour Party, who said there was disagreement at the heart of Government about it. Mr McDonagh said his name had been in the media for a week, and nobody had contacted him, and he was 'really annoyed about it'. He said he didn't know who to call about it. 'I'm a GAA man, so you're playing the man and not the ball. It wasn't to be – so be it, we move on. That's life,' he said. Mr McDonagh was asked if Mr Browne had apologised. He said he did not like to discuss private conversations. But he said the minister had said he was sorry that he (McDonagh) felt he had to pull out, and that it had 'not worked out'. Mr McDonagh was asked by Sinn Féin spokesman Pearse Doherty, if, on April 16, when he met Mr Browne, he had discussed retention of his salary. He replied: 'No, my salary was never discussed.' Mr Doherty then queried how Taoiseach Micheál Martin could stand up in the Dáil and say the the appointment would not cost the taxpayer any more than Mr McDonagh was earning at present. 'Was it ever understood that you were retaining your €430,000 salary if you accepted that position?' Mr Doherty asked. Mr McDonagh replied: "There was no discussion about it. I'm being completely frank with you here. 'My parent body is the NTMA. There's lots of speculation about my salary in the paper, but I can honestly say that there was no discussion about my salary with Minister Browne. 'I will be open and frank with you. There was a lot of speculation in newspapers for a number of weeks, but nobody had discussed anything with me." 'I hate the phrase housing tsar. I never used it.' Mr McDonagh said Felipe could solve the country's housing problems. The Spanish equivalent of Philip, the acronym Felipe was explained by Mr McDonagh as a check-list towards breaking the housing logjam. 'I developed an acronym called Felipe, and I believe if these issues were resolved, they would go a long way towards helping to unlock the housing problems of the country," Mr McDonagh told TDs and senators. He explained the individual Felipe letters in turn. 'F stands for finance development. Finance is crucial. It has to be available for developers to build,' he said. 'E is expertise. Expertise is what you need in your trades. You need your carpenters, plumbers and electricians. We don't have enough of them in the country. We are never going to solve the housing crisis by not having those skill sets. 'We all know people who are plumbers and electricians, and like myself, they're getting older, and eventually there's nobody coming behind them. And that's not good. 'L is land. You need land in terms of housing." 'I is infrastructure, and infrastructure is crucially important. Because you can have all the land zoned in a country, but if it doesn't have infrastructure, nothing will happen. 'P is planning and zoning. We've had huge delays in the planning system. We've got sites ourselves (in Nama) that have been in planning for over two years and still haven't come out the other side. Also, in my experience, even if you get planning, the likelihood of it being judicially appealed to An Bord Pleanála and then judicial reviewed is very high. It costs a huge amount of money. 'The final E in Felipe to me is engineering. This includes modern methods of construction. The productivity in the construction sector is one of the lowest across all industries. 'To me, if you solve those six issues, you have gone a long way to towards trying to help resolve the situation.'
Irish Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
INBS inquiry finds litany of regulatory breaches by collapsed lender
The written decision of the regulatory inquiry into Irish Nationwide Building Society (INBS), published on Wednesday, concludes a litany of regulatory breaches occurred in the run up to the 2008 property crash – as the lender repeatedly issued large sums to developers without proper paperwork, security and internal approvals. The inquiry panel decided that 27 of the 42 so-called suspected prescribed contraventions (SPC) – or regulatory breaches – INBS was alleged to have committed between 2004 and 2008 were proven. Its former finance director John Stanley Purcell, alone among five former INBS figures originally subject to inquiry not to have settled or had proceedings dropped by the time case had concluded, participated in 13 of these, it found. One example case in the report related to a £155 million (€184 million) loan to a borrower (whose name is redacted) to purchase a 7.8-acre site in London in 2007 with planning for 948 flats and commercial and retail outlets and follow-up £26.3 million facility early construction loan. READ MORE These breached the lender's own policies because three-year audited accounts were not sought from the borrower, which was incorporated in 1997, and loans were advanced prior to a quorate credit committee meeting. There was also no evidence personal guarantees, required by INBS when the borrower was a private company, were sought. The loans would ultimately be transferred to the National Asset Management Agency (Nama). [ EY, Arthur Cox and Mason Hayes main winners from €24.3m INBS inquiry Opens in new window ] INBS also failed to set a formal policy on profit-sharing lending, in spite of warnings from regulators from 2004 that its commercial lending should be 'conducted in a prudent and responsible way', according to the report. Profit-share lending, where INBS would take a cut of gains from a development project, eventually represented 65 per cent of INBS's €8.18 billion commercial loan book by the time of the 2008 crash. [ Irish Nationwide Building Society inquiry cost reaches €24.3m Opens in new window ] The inquiry concluded that rapid growth of profit-share lending between 2004 and 2008 meant the board could not have properly considered individual loans. For example, in July 2006 board minutes showed that 40 loans were approved at a single board meeting involving in excess of €450 million. In October of the same year 38 loans totalling more than €500 million were given the nod. 'It is clear that the sheer volume of loans that were presented to the board for approval made it virtually impossible for the board to apply appropriate oversight and rigour in approving these loans,' the report said, adding that the profit-share deals were particularly complicated as they often included repayment moratoriums, up to 100 per cent funding, the use of special purpose vehicles, and very large sums of money. This made them very vulnerable in a property market downturn. While the inquiry accepted Mr Purcell was not directly involved with day-to-day commercial lending, it said he was a board member and was aware of regulators' concerns 'that commercial lenders were, in some cases, not obtaining the required information from borrowers in order to properly assess their capacity to repay the loan being provided.' Between 2008 and 2010, INBS suffered financial losses in excess of €6 billion, leading to a €5.4 billion taxpayer bailout. It ultimately collapsed.
Irish Independent
21-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
‘I am not a political person, I did not seek this role' says Nama boss Brendan McDonagh amid housing tsar controversy
Mr McDonagh, who is paid €430,000 as CEO of the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), said the public was entitled to ask questions, but there had been no discussion with the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) over what his salary would be. Mr McDonald told the Oireachtas Committee on Finance that the first time he met with the Minister for Housing to discuss the position of chief executive for the new Housing Activation Office was in April. "I'm not prepared to discuss the details of my contract. My salary is publicly disclosed," Mr McDonagh said, adding that he had waived an annual bonus every year since his appointment. He refused to answer questions about his "personal" affairs, such as reports that he is renting out a house in Cabra for €10,000 a week (over €40,000 a month). Mr McDonagh insisted, however, that he was making "all relevant disclosures" as required. "There does come a point when matters are private, and I reserve my position," he said. He said he fully accepted he was "very well paid," but argued he had returned "value for money" through a surplus of billions returned to the taxpayer. He said he was not a public representative, but had decided not to go forward because "why would I be kicked around like a political football." He added: "I did not seek this role." He spoke about the approach to him by Minister for Housing James Browne about the job of Housing Tsar, that was first mediated by the Secretary General of the Department of Housing. "The first time I met the Secretary General was on 10 April, and we had a general discussion," he said. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more "He subsequently called to invite me to meet Minister Browne on the 16 of April, the Wednesday before Holy Thursday of the Easter weekend. "Minister Brown outlined that's what he wanted the CEO (of the new Housing Activiation Office) to do. And I should add, this was not a role I sought or ever canvassed for. I want to be absolutely clear about that. "But Mr Browne said: 'Your name has been mentioned in many circles as being somebody who might have appropriate skills to help. Would you be prepared to let me propose your name to the Cabinet subcommittee and the Government?' "After talking with him, I agreed; and that was my only discussion about the role, which was with, Minister Browne. "I had no other contact with any other members of the political system. On the first of May, given there was lots of public controversy about me and the role - I am not a political person, I'm apolitical - I really felt I didn't want to be part of that. "I'm a professional. I believe I'm a public servant, and I didn't want the story to be all about me. So I advised the minister on 1 May that I really wasn't interested. "Because, to be honest, everybody who knows me, I'm very straightforward. I made the decision." "We are all affected by the housing crisis. We all have kids. And I thought I had something to offer." The nomination as Housing Tsar was torpedoed when Tanaiste and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris said he would prefer the name had not emerged in public before Government discussion of it. He was answering Ged Nash of the Labour Party, who said there was disagreement at the heart of Government about it. Mr McDonagh said his name had been in the media for a week, and nobody had contacted him, and he was "really annoyed about it." He said he didn't know who to ring about it. He added: "I'm a GAA man, so you're playing the man and not the ball. It wasn't to be - so be it, we move on. That's life." Mr McDonagh was asked if Mr Browne had apologised. He said he did not like to discuss private conversations. But he said he, the Minister had said he was sorry that he (McDonagh) felt he had to pull out, and that it had "not worked out." Mr McDonagh was asked by Sinn Féin spokesman Pearse Doherty, if, on April 16, when he met Minister Browne, he had discussed retention of his salary. He replied: "No, my salary was never discussed." Mr Doherty then queried how Micheál Martin could stand up in the Dail and say the the appointment would not cost the taxpayer any more than Mr McDonagh was earning at present. "Was it ever understood that you were retaining your €430,000 salary if you accepted that position?" Mr Doherty asked. He answered: "There was no discussion about it. I'm being completely frank with you here. "My parent body is the NTMA. There's lots of speculation about my salary in the paper, but I can honestly say that there was no discussion about my salary with Minister Brown. "I will be open and frank with you. There was a lot of speculation in newspapers for a number of weeks, but nobody had discussed anything with me." He added: "I hate the phrase Housing Tsar. I never used it." Mr McDonagh said Felipe could solve the country's housing problems. The Spanish equivalent of Philip, the acronym Felipe was explained by Mr McDonagh as a check-list towards breaking the housing logjam. "I developed an acronym called Felipe, and I believe if these issues were resolved, they would go a long way towards helping to unlock the housing problems of the country," Mr McDonagh told TDs and Senators. He explained the individual Felipe letters in turn. "F stands for finance development. Finance is crucial. It has to be available for developers to build. 'E is expertise. Expertise is what you need in your trades. You need your carpenters, plumbers, and electricians. We don't have enough of them in the country. We are never going to solve the housing crisis by not having those skill sets. We all know people who are plumbers and electricians, and like myself, they're getting older, and eventually there's nobody coming behind them. And that's not good." "L is land. Okay, you need land in terms of housing." "I is infrastructure, and infrastructure is crucially important. Because you can have all the land zoned in a country, but if it doesn't have infrastructure, nothing will happen. "P is planning and zoning. We've had huge delays in the planning system. We've got sites ourselves (in Nama) that have been in planning for over two years and still havn't come out the other side. Also, in my experience, even if you get planning, the likelihood of it being judicially appealed to An Bord Pleanála and then judicial reviewed is very high. It costs a huge amount of money." "The final E in Felipe to me is engineering. This includes modern methods of construction. The productivity in the construction sector is one of the lowest across all industries." Mr McDonagh concluded the point: "To me, if you solve those six issues, you have gone a long way to towards trying to help resolve the situation."
The Journal
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Journal
Salary of Nama boss expected to be raised with Brendan McDonagh at Finance Committee tomorrow
THE OUTGOING BOSS of the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) Brendan McDonagh is set to be questioned over his €430,000 salary, which sparked controversy when his name was in the mix to be the new housing tsar. McDonagh, who is set to appear before the Joint Committee on Finance, does not address the issue in his opening statement, due to be delivered to committee members tomorrow afternoon. Earlier this month, McDonagh told Housing Minister James Browne that he no longer wished to be considered for the role of CEO of the Housing Activation Office, a position informally dubbed as the housing 'tsar'. McDonagh's withdrawal followed controversy over the revelations reported by The Ditch website and previous reports that he would retain his €430,000 Nama salary if he was appointed to the new role. Concerns had been raised as to whether McDonagh would retain the salary when he returns to his role in the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), however Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe poured cold water over the idea. Advertisement Chair of the committee, Sinn Féin's Mairead Farrell said McDonagh and his colleagues have been invited to appear before the committee tomorrow to discuss matters including the dissolution of Nama and the staffing arrangements following the wind down of the agency, which is expected to include salaries and remuneration. In his opening statement to the committee, seen by The Journal , McDonagh will outline that Nama has no staff and that all staff were assigned to it by the NTMA. 'No role in it' 'While the precise nature of these arrangements is a matter for the NTMA, Nama will cease to exist as a legal entity when the wind-down is complete – expected at end 2025 – and therefore will no longer have staff assigned to it,' he says in his statement. He adds that any decisions on how the NTMA Resolution Unit will operate 'will be a matter for the NTMA and I have no role in that'. Nama was established in 2009 as part of the State's response to the 2008 banking crisis to deal with property-backed loans. At that time, Nama acquired 11,500 land and development and associated loans from five Irish financial institutions, with over 800 debtor connections, an acquisition value of €32bn and a par value of €74bn. 'It was originally planned to complete the dissolution of the entire Nama infrastructure by the end of 2025. However, it has become clear that this will not be feasible as some assets may still be on Nama's balance sheet, and some litigation cases may be outstanding at end-2025,' the chair of the committee has said. Related Reads Donohoe does not expect NAMA boss to carry over €430,000 salary when he returns to NTMA job Chaos of housing tsar controversy is a symptom of a longer running dysfunction in Housing Tánaiste says it was correct to 'think through' housing tsar role but denies 'blocking' appointment McDonagh will tell the committee tomorrow that during 2025, Nama will finalise the deleveraging of its remaining portfolio and ensure that any residual activity transferred to the NTMA Resolution Unit is minimised in so far as practicable. Committee members will be told that Nama's lifetime surplus, currently projected to be €5.2 billion, is inclusive of corporation tax payments. 'A key part of our activity during 2025 will include the transfer of National Asset Residential Property Services, NARPS, our social housing portfolio of 1,366 homes to the Land Development Agency and remain in State ownership. We also expect to transfer two residential development sites (one in Dublin, one in Kildare) and capacity for circa 4,000 new homes to the LDA,' McDonagh states in his opening statement. Concerns have been raised about the retention of data and files as Nama winds down. McDonagh will tell the committee tomorrow that detailed plans for how data and records is being worked on, with the files expected to be transferred to the NTMA Resolution Unit at the end of the year. Entering 2025, Nama's balance sheet included a loan portfolio with assets valued in the region of €100 million with associated par debt of €1.7 billion, mostly made up of low-value exposures. The loans of some 34 debtors currently remain under the active management of Nama. Most of these debtors are expected to exit Nama by end-2025. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Belfast Telegraph
19-05-2025
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
Nama trial adjourned following legal arguments over charge sheet for former MLA Daithí McKay
The long-awaited 'Nama trial' due to get underway on Monday has been adjourned to allow further legal arguments to be submitted. The case relates to a 2015 evidence session before to the NI Finance Committee relating to the sale of the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) property loan portfolio in NI.
