Madam, – Nama is planning to set a future value of developer property portfolios and pay that amount to the banks. This means that the Government must get the future price right for each portfolio to avoid paying too much (the banks gain) or too little (the banks need further refinancing).
Instead of guessing the future value now, and potentially paying the wrong amount, I suggest the Government pay half the amount to the banks now, and then over a five-year term, on a quarterly basis, pay an adjusted amount to the banks. This would mean only the right amount is paid for the bad assets. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Following the collapse of Communism and the Soviet Union, the government of the Russian state saw fit to sell vast state assets at grossly undervalued prices to a well-connected oligarchy. It took the chaos and humiliation of default in August 1998 to force a reversal of this disastrous course, ushering in the Putin era where the interests of the state have been forcefully re-asserted over the last decade.
The Nama course on which Ireland is now embarked bears a striking parallel with the Russian experience, with the obvious difference that in our case the Government of our State is seeing fit to buy assets at grossly overvalued prices from a well-connected banking and developer oligarchy.
Will it also take a period of chaos and possibly humiliating default before the interests of our state (and taxpayer) are finally re-asserted by somebody? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I have worked hard for almost 30 years as a teacher, on a salary that is modest and without perks or expenses. I have paid tax and paid my debts. I have never speculated, nor used tax loopholes, or opened an Ansbacher account. I was never invited into the Galway tent nor bought a race-horse or a Charvet shirt. I never accepted a brown envelope full of loot, nor bought swathes of foreign countries or main streets of my own country, or received a free house.
Yet, those who did these things and won’t, or can’t, pay back their debts are not being blamed: it’s the public servants who are being blamed for the country’s collapse.
To add insult to injury, these “entrepreneurs” and “self-made” billionaires will now be baled out by the most inefficient and possibly corrupt government in the western world, through penalising the public service en masse, and the ordinary workers – even those on a minimum wage. Shame on this Government and their latest spin-doctor McCarthy, and their union lapdogs. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – It is a shame that Brian Cowen chose the Galway Races to lecture the Irish people about whose interest Nama will be serving, as it was at this venue that the seeds for the current debacle Irish society is experiencing were sown. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – In the interests of transparency and good governance, the Government should release details of any political contributions to either of the Government parties which have been made by any developers whose loan obligations will be transferred to Nama. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The Treasury Building on Grand Canal Street in Dublin, which will house the National Assets Management Agency (Nama) has a figure of a person “climbing up the wall”. Is it a sign to all the taxpayers of this State that we will all be “climbing up the walls” for years to come? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Surely it’s not beyond the talent in the Department of Finance to include a provision that in the event of a shortfall for Nama the State would be able to take a percentage of the banks’ future profits until the deficit plus interest was paid. Coming from future profits this would neither reduce the banks’ capital ratios nor their ability to raise capital on the international markets. – Yours, etc,