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O'Dowd: I'm not on side of developers

Junior Minister Fergus O'Dowd has today insisted that he is not "on the side of developers".

After it emerged that Nama is paying salaries of more than €100,000 to 66 developers, with three receiving in excess of €200,000, the Louth TD insisted that "if that is in the interests of the State, that is the most efficient way to do it."

In a document prepared for the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee, Nama stated that the salaries paid to developers were proportionate with the value and complexity of the €64bn worth of assets involved.

"Nama are in fact, I believe, doing an excellent job, in these very difficult circumstances," said O'Dowd.

"I just want to make it very clear, in case that people might think that I'm on the side of developers, I'm not, I'm on the side of the economy, I'm on the side of what's the best way to get the best return for our assets

"I have myself personally brought developers to the High Court, and made them do certain things, out of my pocket.

"So I've no issue about the credibility of what developers did or didn't do."Home

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