Costs for State inquiry into Nama's Project Eagle sale top €3.1m

The Commission of Inquiry into Nama's sale of its Northern Irish loan book has been delayed again, the Taoiseach has revealed.

To date, some €3.14m has been spent on the State inquiry into the sale of Nama's Northern Irish loan book.

The State commission of inquiry into Nama’s sale of its Northern Irish loan book has been delayed again.

It has cost €3.1m so far, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has revealed.

In a letter to the leaders of Opposition parties, seen by the Irish Examiner, it is revealed that the Commission headed by Judge John Cooke has again sought an extension and has been granted it until September 30.

“For your information, from the date of its establishment to the end of February 2021, the Commission has spent a total of €3,140,590 approximately, excluding any third-party legal costs that have been incurred but not yet paid,” he wrote.

Having considered the matter, the Taoiseach said he is of the view that given the reasons outlined in the Interim Report and the advanced stage of the Commission's investigation, there is little option but to grant the Commission's request. 

“I have therefore decided to grant the extension as provided for under the Commission of Investigation Act 2004 and am also arranging for publication of the Interim Report,” he said.

The Commission was established in June 2017 to investigate the sale by NAMA of its Northern Ireland portfolio, known as Project Eagle.

“The Commission’s original deadline for reporting was 31 June 2018 but following several requests from the Commission, its timeframe for reporting has been extended. Most recently, in November 2020, I granted a request made by the Commission in its Ninth Interim Report for an extension of its timeframe for reporting until the end of March 2021,” the Taoiseach said.

The letter states that on March 12, the Commission sent its Tenth Interim Report to him. 

“In it, the Commission requested a further extension of its timeframe for reporting on the sale of Project Eagle, this time until 30 September 2021,” he wrote.

He said the Interim Report provides an update on the Commission's work since its Ninth Interim Report was submitted and it states a number of developments have led the Commission to having to request a further extension.

“Firstly, it states the effect of the pandemic restrictions has been far greater than anticipated and that the impact of the restrictions on the members of the Commission team has significantly slowed the Commission’s progress in the collaborative work of drafting its final report,” the Taoiseach states.

The Taoiseach also states that “an individual outside the jurisdiction of the State who had previously declined to provide evidence to the Commission had agreed to provide a statement to assist the investigation.”

“After some difficulty due to the pandemic restrictions in the State and the location of the witness, the individual concerned provided sworn evidence to the Commission in early February 2021 and is due to finish giving evidence within two weeks,” he said.

The Commission states that preparations for the first draft of its final report are well advanced and that once the hearing of the witness is concluded it will amend the draft text of the report to incorporate where necessary the newly received evidence, the letter reveals.

The Interim Report also notes that outstanding tasks then to be completed by the Commission include distribution of its draft final report under section 34 of the Act to people identified or identifiable in it and consideration of any applications or submissions received (the Commission estimated previously that it would have to circulate its draft report to at least 60 individuals as well as the Board of NAMA and a number of individuals outside the State) as well as dealing with any applications for third party costs under section 24 of the Act, the Taoiseach said.

Project Eagle was the name given to the National Asset Management Agency’s (Nama) Northern Ireland property loans, sold to US company Cerberus in April 2014 for about €1.6bn.

Nama bought the loans in 2010, along with thousands of others, from Irish banks, which needed to be rescued following a property market crash and financial crisis in 2008.

Some of Project Eagle’s bigger borrowers included Paddy Kearney’s Kilmona, Frank Boyd’s Kilultagh Estates and Noel Murphy’s MAR Properties. More than 50 Northern Ireland-based borrowers accounted for about half the total owed, which was €6bn.