NAMA and the banks - Greens are right, have the debate

THERE is a refreshing whiff of democracy in action about the call from sections of the Green Party to hold a special party convention on the form that the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) might take and how it might do its business.

The consequences of getting it wrong on NAMA are so terrible that it is entirely right that anyone with a stake in this country’s future should try to work their way through the maze that the banks, the developers and our Government propose to lead us through.

The Green Party suggestion can only be considered novel if viewed against the reluctance of other parties to engage in any formal assessment of NAMA.