Hundreds turn out for anti-NAMA protest

Hundreds of people gathered at Leinster House this afternoon to attend an anti-NAMA protest arranged by SIPTU and the TEEU.

The organisers say the Government's plan to buy toxic assets from the banks is a bail-out for the wealthy at a time when ordinary people are bearing the brunt of government cutbacks.

Addressing the crowd this lunchtime, Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore said everyone accepted that bad debts would have to be removed from the banks and that this would be costly.

However, he said NAMA was not the correct way to address the problem in the interests of the public.