Suspicion over the way NAMA deals being conducted

Mary Mitchell O'Connor

by Katie Finnegan

Fine Gael Dun Laoghaire Deputy said the accuracy of the information on the NAMA website regarding possible sites for sale is leading to suspicion over how deals are being conducted.

The sale by NAMA of land known as the Ashcastle site on the border between Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and Dublin City County Council is causing grave concern to Dun Laoghaire TD, Mary Mitchell O’Connor.

The Ash Castle site has been listed with an address at Booterstown Marsh, when in actual fact it is adjacent to the nature reserve.

Nama - Google Images

“Furthermore The NAMA website states that the site is not for sale at present when I have been reliably informed that it has been sold subject to planning permission” says Deputy Mitchell O’Connor.

“This is causing concern among constituents in Booterstown/Blackrock who are concerned that an open and transparent advertisement for the sale of Ashcastle did not take place. There is disquiet about whether or not NAMA, by giving a misleading address, may have hindered other bids for this piece of land.”

The purchaser of the site is believed to be a sporting organization and Deputy Mitchell O’Connor says; “I am in no way casting dispersion about the purchaser of the site which I believe is a sporting organisation. What concerns me most is the process that was used. Is it the case that other houses, lands, apartments that are for sale on the NAMA site are also shown with misleading addresses?”

Eyre Square Galway

NAMA is obliged to obtain the highest price possible for the properties it controls and may sell properties by public auction, public tender, private treaty or whatever the normal market practice is for the particular type of property they are selling.

“I understand the sensitivity of sales under NAMA” says Deputy Mitchell O’Connor; “but am concerned that limited information on properties for sale by the Agency, is constraining ordinary people from knowing exactly what is for sale, preventing them for bidding on such properties.”

Since the beginning of November, NAMA has appointed receivers to 48 further properties, many of which are in Galway. According to the Irish Independent, 18 further Galway properties are now under the auspices of NAMA.
The Galway properties include a mixed-use property in Eyre Square and retail shops at Upper Abbeygate Street, a restaurant in Loughrea and also a shop in Tuam.


NAMA is the largest property holding company in the world and Deputy Mitchell O’Connor is asking the Minister to insist that NAMA “puts the correct address of property for sale, the guide price and the sale price achieved for properties sold by NAMA onto the Agency’s website.”


She is also calling on them to advertise publicly in newspapers and by estate agents to ensure openness and transparency is achieved.