Inside the world of business
Verbal review of Nama not the last word in transparency
WHAT AN odd review former HSBC chief executive Mike Geoghegan carried out on the National Asset Management Agency, perhaps the most important agency ever set up by an Irish government.
Nama chairman Frank Daly told the Public Accounts Committee yesterday that the board asked Geoghegan to carry out the review; Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has said it was him who called for it. Daly explained this away, saying that it was a “mutual arrangement”.
Geoghegan waived a fee for his two-week review but only agreed to it on the basis that his recommendations would remain private. He didn’t write any report, giving his recommendations verbally in meetings with the board and the Minister.
Nama is moving from acquiring €74.2 billion in loans to the critical phase of managing them out. For that reason, you would think that a crucial review such as this would be published by a Government which had major pre-election concerns about an agency that is carrying €30 billion of State debt and has the future of the Irish property market in its hands.
Not so. And strangely it took some probing from one of the Government’s junior members, Fine Gael TD and PAC member Eoghan Murphy, to find out exactly what Geoghegan had advised.
Then there was the unusual resignation statement from Nama board member Peter Stewart. He said the Geoghegan review “should be a watershed in the life of Nama” and “should result in significant changes to the structure of the agency”. (Note the use of the word “should”.)
“That certainly would not be my view,” said Daly when asked by Murphy about Stewart’s statement. Daly conceded yesterday that there would be changes to Nama’s structure but nothing significant.
Geoghegan’s recommendations were being considered by the Nama board and the Minister, but could not be disclosed. He would only say that Geoghegan acknowledged Namas progress and how it has had “no significant crisis moments”.
So much for transparency.
Playing a patent game
THE CURRENT controversy over who benefited from the intellectual property rights of Seán Gallagher’s company shines a light on the role played by patents and intellectual property in business.
Yesterday, an Oireachtas select sub-committee met to discuss amendments to Irish patent legislation. The Patents (Amendment) Bill 2011 aims to amend three sections of the Patents Act 1992, in order to allow Ireland to ratify the “London agreement”. This is an agreement, first mooted in 2000, which allows countries to wave the requirement for translations of European patents to be filed in their national language. Currently, companies who want to apply for patent protection in a European country must lodge a full translation of the patent in the national language of that country – a hugely costly process. The aim of the London agreement, a pact which 16 countries have already ratified, is to significantly reduce the huge costs involved.
As Seán Sherlock, Minister of State for Research and Innovation, told the Dáil during the second stage debate of the Bill: “Access to a cost-effective and efficient patent system is key to stimulating innovation.” He pointed out that 50 per cent of all enterprises in Ireland continue to engage in considerable research and development activities, despite the tough economic environment.
But despite widespread acceptance of the importance of innovation, tax exemption on patent income was cut in the last budget as part of the general cull of tax reliefs.
While some welcomed the cut, arguing that the exemption was open to abuse, the wisdom of abolishing the tax exemption – a key incentive for companies to add value to their invention and commercialise their research – by an economy that promotes research and development was questionable.
What Seán Sherlock’s party and its Government partners have in mind for intellectual property in the forthcoming budget will be interesting.
Greener fields for workers?
Job security is a major concern for most workers these days but, if benefits consultant Mercer is to be believed, a significant cohort is focused on greener pastures the other side of the employment fence.
Its What’s Working survey of 1,000 Irish workers found that more than one in three Irish workers is “seriously considering” leaving their employer, a major increase on the fourth quarter of 2010. A further 23 per cent are indifferent on the subject but not happy with their employer.
Mercer says the findings are broadly in line with those among a wider 30,000-strong survey group in 17 countries. Quite where this outspoken group intends to move is not clear.
Dissatisfaction is greatest among the 16-24 age group, which is hardly much of a surprise. Inevitably, these are more likely to be found in more junior and less rewarding roles early in their careers. In any case, job security means less to a young adult with few financial overheads.
Still, after three years of austerity, you’d like to think that more than 53 per cent of the sample group thought they were fairly paid.
TODAY
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan will address a lunch hosted by the Chartered Accountants Leinster Society, where he is expected to talk about the economic recovery and the future of the Irish banking system.
You can get the latest news each business day at irishtimes.com/business or by following us on Twitter at twitter.com/IrishTimesBiz. We also have a Facebook page at facebook.com/IrishTimesBiz where you can read the latest business headlines, blog posts and reader polls.
