Taxpayer suffers to save property developers

IN his business section column (July 25), Brian O’Mahony probably raises the question that’s on everyone’s mind: what about everything else besides the banking crisis? What about unemployment, Bord Snip, Lisbon II, the property crash, schools and garda stations closing, our senior citizens, medical card and health cuts, as well social welfare, children’s allowance cuts, etc.

But where is the Government’s focus? It’s on NAMA. Does anybody small a rat here? NAMA is planning to buy debts at 70% of their value, yet recent cases involving Zoe Development and Tivway indicate the debts may not be worth any more than 30% and 10% respectively.

If these two cases are in any way representative of the other 48 developers being bailed out by the Government, NAMA proves to be nothing more than another dig-out for vested interests. The real penny that needs to drop is public perception of NAMA — do people really understand what is happening? Perhaps if there was a NAMA 10% tax or levy notice stamped on wage packet slips, people would understand the full implications. The money for Nama will come from the public purse. It may not be as obvious as the PTSB’s recent interest rate hike, but its effect on take-home earnings could be multiplied by a factor of 10 or perhaps 15.