NAMA defends €200k builders' salaries

The chairman of NAMA has said that some builders operating under its regime are being paid salaries of up to €200,000.

Frank Daly this morning told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform that cash incentives will be given to certain developers for paying back their loans.

Fianna Fáil Finance spokesman Michael McGrath suggested that the payments were not in keeping with NAMA claim that the agency was not a bailout for builders.

The NAMA chairman said most builders are in receipt of salaries averaging between €75,000 and €100,000.

But he defended the payments insisting that the alternative of putting them out of business could be more expensive.

"The majority of cases - that range of salary would be something around €75,000 to €100,000" he said.

"There might be one or two exceptional cases - and I'll refer to them because they're already public - where there would be a salary of €200,000".

"What you're trying to do is get the best return by getting the person who we believe is best placed to help us get that return," he added.

"It's a hard decision and it's one we agonise over.

"But I suppose it's a realistic commercial decision."