Nama faced fierce scrutiny yesterday amid claims by senior members of the Dáil’s public accounts committee that it should have cancelled a huge sale last year of €5.7bn of Northern loans, codenamed Project Eagle.

The chairman of Nama has been accused of “failing to protect the public interest” amid calls for an all-island inquiry into alleged payoffs that were part of the agency’s biggest ever property deal.

The controversy started over disputed legal fees at the Belfast law firm Tughans involving £7m (€9.8m) held in a secret account on the Isle of Man.

Independent TD Mick Wallace’s allegations in the Dáil last Thursday set a controversy alight which had been burning for months in Belfast.