Michael Noonan urged to answer Project Eagle questions before the Dáil

Finance Minister Michael Noonan has been urged to appear before the Dáil to answer questions on the sale of Nama’s Northern loan book.

A Stormont finance committee report was highly critical of Mr Noonan for allowing the Project Eagle sale to continue despite being aware of concerns around the deal.

Yesterday, Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said Mr Noonan should make himself available to the House when it resumes on March 22.

Ms McDonald said the portfolio sale was “controversial from the get-go” and “serious questions arise as to the manner of its execution”.

Speaking outside Leinster House yesterday she said: “The report also is extremely critical of Nama, critical of Minister Michael Noonan for their failures in relation to this sale, it’s very clear that the minister and Nama knew that there were problems, knew that the sales process had been corrupted but they ploughed on with it.

“It’s very clear that they didn’t inform the Northern Executive or Assembly of those difficulties that had arisen, so it’s clear to us that what is required here is a full commission of investigation into Nama into the sale of the northern portfolio.”

However, a Department of Finance spokesman said both Nama and the Department of Finance provided comprehensive evidence. He added that while criminal investigations are under way into actions on the buyer side, there is no allegation of wrongdoing against Nama.

“The Department of Finance is satisfied that Nama adhered to its mandate to achieve the best return for the Irish taxpayer.

“This was clearly demonstrated through Nama’s insistence on an open market sales process for this portfolio which places each bidder on level footing in terms of their knowledge of the portfolio.”