Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 October 2012
161. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No.147 of 9 October 2012, if he will reconsider his response in view of the various forecasts given by the National Asset Management Agency (details supplied) of its 2011 annual outturn before 31 December 2011. [45971/12]
View answerIt would not be appropriate, as the Deputy had sought in the earlier Parliamentary Question (42681.12) referred to, for the Minister for Finance to provide an estimate of the financial outturn for the National Asset Management Agency in advance of the closure of accounts and the production of the statement of accounts by that Agency. It is instructive to note, however, that, as set out in its most recent Section 55 Quarterly Accounts published last week, the Agency made a net profit of €89 million during the three months ending 30th June 2012 and an overall net profit of €222 million for the first half of the year. I welcome the strong financial performance to which these figures attest and hope that the Agency performs as well during the second half of the year. The Deputy will appreciate that there is a significant difference in terms of the rigour required between, on the one hand, the formal provision by the Minister for Finance before the Houses of the Oireachtas of projections pertaining to an entity under his auspices and, on the other, an informal forecast made by the Agency’s Chief Executive during an interview with an international media outlet.
