Commercial property is in free fall and NAMA is built on a false floor

Apparently, we are going to start with a current market value and then add on an expectant premium to reflect future prospects. That may sound plausible, but it’s fiction. Nobody knows what future property prices will be, when they might recover and to what extent

THE August bank holiday weekend is one of the high points of my year. It falls between Galway race week and the Dublin Horse Show. As a horse lover, I appreciate the best of equine talent. Whether two-year-old blue bloods on the flat, a Galway Plate winner, international show jumper or Connemara pony – all horses gleam in their summer coats and epitomise natural beauty.

Throw in salad days, balmy weather, top GAA matches in Croke Park and a national holiday mood. The summer has reached a high point of official relaxation and an entitlement to “get away from it all”.