Cowen rejects Lee's proposal on Bacon

TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen rejected a suggestion by Fine Gael’s George Lee that the Government publish the full Bacon report on the banks.

Mr Lee said that the idea for the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) came from the report of an economic consultant, Peter Bacon, on dealing with the banking crisis.

“Can the Government publish the full Bacon report on the banks, out of which came the proposal for Nama, so that members of the House can fully understand the issues rather than relying on the short summary that has been issued?’’ he added.

“This would be helpful for everybody in advance of the legislation.’’ Mr Cowen said that “one would understand why it should not be publicly available’’. The policy behind the introduction of Nama was established not only in the Republic but also abroad.

“The legislation will afford an opportunity for everyone to give their views on it,’’ he added.

“In the meantime, the deputy can put questions directly to the Minister for Finance during parliamentary questions and other procedures in the House which would allow him to articulate aspects of the report while leaving it short of full publication.’’

Earlier, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said that the confusion surrounding Nama was a cause of major concern, particularly when bodies like the IMF said that the difficulty for Government was in determining the extent of the valuation of assets to be acquired.

“This could have disastrous consequences for taxpayers and the economy generally,’’ he added.

Mr Cowen said there was no confusion whatever on the Government’s part regarding the establishment of the agency.

“The question of valuation will be part of that process when we get Nama up and running.’’

Dáil may be recalled in early September to debate Nama: page 18