Make your submission on NAMA to the Minister

According to this [broken link removed]in The Irish Times, the Department of Finance has received 40 submissions on NAMA.

Mr Lenihan has specifically asked for suggestions as to how it could become more effective. When the Bill was published, he said he hoped to “hear the views of all” on the draft provisions.

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So, don't say you were not invited.

This is everything that is wrong with the process, and is a particular Irish problem. Damien Kilberd put it very eloquently in his column in the Sunday Times this week titled Leaks are Driving us to Despair - I quote, "leaders are paid to lead, not to fly kites, commission reports, or invite their opponents to administer sucker punches".

Publishing papers (or having them leaked) and inviting public comments for an interminable period just ties the whole process up, whether that be NAMA, An Bord Snip, or the taxation report. It just gives vested interests the chance to mobilise and throw spanners in the works, and creates massive uncertainty about future policy decisions, parilysing the economy. It is no co-incidence that the governments of other countries that are coming out of recession (and if you dont believe that, thay have at least largely moved on from their particular banking crises), have just dealt with it. Whether popular or not, the american and british and other europeans have just made decisions, acted on them and got on with their lives. The interminable Irish process of commissioning reports and debating publicly for months is undermining the whole economy.

the fact is that NAMA will get done, and Brian and Brian should have just got on with it months ago instead of commissioning reports and going on holiday (I am not criticising FF here, it is more the whole irish political system). They have access to the expertise they need, they could have formed a cross party committee to take suggestions in private, tweaked the NAMA framework as they are doing now, and executed their plan months ago. I find this method of 'Government by public consultation' completely inappropriate for the kind of decisions that need to be made in every area of the economy

Hi Stevie

I agree with some parts of your post.

Setting up NAMA has taken too long.

However, the proposed legislation can be imrpoved with public and expert comments.

What was released last month could have been released much earlier. And the draft bill should have been out by now. It can always be amended at committee stage.

The Irish Times also makes the point that by consulting so much, they reduce the chance of a successful legal challenge.

Brendan

OK, there are parts of the NAMA framework which are helped by expert input (though I dont understand why this expertise cannot be accessed privately by a cross party committee, rather than through the newspapers and airwaves ). The legal challenge issue a good point.

But this 'government by consultation' extends to everything whether it be cost cutting or tax raising policies. Airing this dirty washing in public for months on end, allowing every vested interest to vent their anger, spending weeks, if not months, argiung why someone else should take the paid and not them, just breeds resentment. The governemnt just needs to make the call, like in every other country.

This is going to be the most monumental call in terms of creating a future liability for the entire population that any Irish government since the founding of the state has had to make.

This is not like deciding to build a motorway or a metro or a new hospital. The fact that a significant number of experts in the field disagree fundamentally with the decision means that "just making the call" would be the height of responsibility.

We are talking about amounts of money which equal 9 or 10 times the anuall income tax take of the country. I think it deserves a debate at least.

You can make your submissions by email to david.byrne@finance.gov.ie