Stonewalling adds to suspicion on NI deal

THERE are fewer more experienced campaigners in the Dáil than Finance Minister Michael Noonan, so his reticence on the Project Eagle deal, where US company Cerberus paid just under €1.6bn for Nama’s North of Ireland portfolio, is pretty hard to understand.

Mr Noonan must know that his coyness, and that’s a very kind use of vocabulary, will only darken the cloud of suspicion hanging over the deal.

His continued refusal to engage on the issue, and the inconclusive eight-month inquiry by Stormont’s Finance Committee, can only provoke more suspicion — just like the stalled Siteserv inquiry does.