Nama loses five-year battle over release of information

A five-year battle by Nama to prevent details of its loans and properties being provided under environmental information law ended in defeat at the Supreme Court yesterday.

The court found that former commissioner for environmental information Emily O’Reilly made a flawed decision against Nama in 2011, and a High Court judgment in 2013 that dismissed Nama’s appeal was unsatisfactory. But the Supreme Court nevertheless found that the agency set up to take over and manage billions of euro in loans on behalf of taxpayers was covered by the regulations.

The case centred on journalist and transparency campaigner Gavin Sheridan’s 2010 request for information on Nama’s loans and assets. His referral of the case to Ms O’Reilly’s office, after Nama refused by claiming it was not a ‘public authority’ under the the definition in the regulations, led to her finding that it did come under their scope.