Sinn Féin says Noonan should answer Project Eagle questions

Sinn Féin has called on the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan to appear before the Dáil to answer questions on the sale of Project Eagle.

Mr Noonan was strongly criticised in a Stormont finance committee report for allowing the sale to continue despite being made aware of concerns about the deal.

Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said Mr Noonan should make himself available to the House.

She said the Minister has to explain why he allowed the process to continue when he knew it was “corrupted”.

Ms McDonald said: “Minister Noonan must come before the Dáil to answer questions in relation to this matter of serious public concern and to be held accountable for his actions or inactions as the case may be.

“It is also clear that Nama no longer commands full public trust in acting in the best interests of the taxpayer. We certainly don’t believe that the taxpayer got value for money in relation to this sale.

"The account given by Nama Chairman Frank Daly is not credible, does not command public confidence and both he and Nama have serious questions to answer."

The report questioned why Mr Noonan did not instruct Nama to “suspend the sales process” of its portfolio in the North when it learned of the “proposed fee arrangements” that were in place.

The decision not to halt the sale of the Project Eagle properties lies at the heart of "concerns" about what became a £1.24 billion (€1.6 billion) transaction. The ultimate buyer was Cerberus, another US firm.

The cross-party committee, which has investigated the deal for eight months, believes Nama needs to provide further information and clarification about the sale process and said it regrets Mr Noonan did not encourage Nama to co-operate with the committee fully by attending an oral hearing.