THE OUTGOING BOSS of the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) Brendan McDonagh is set to be questioned over his €430,000 salary, which sparked controversy when his name was in the mix to be the new housing tsar. 

McDonagh, who is set to appear before the Joint Committee on Finance, does not address the issue in his opening statement, due to be delivered to committee members tomorrow afternoon.

Earlier this month, McDonagh told Housing Minister James Browne that he no longer wished to be considered for the role of CEO of the Housing Activation Office, a position informally dubbed as the housing ‘tsar’.

McDonagh’s withdrawal followed controversy over the revelations reported by The Ditch website and previous reports that he would retain his €430,000 Nama salary if he was appointed to the new role.

Concerns had been raised as to whether McDonagh would retain the salary when he returns to his role in the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), however Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe poured cold water over the idea. 

Chair of the committee, Sinn Féin’s Mairead Farrell said McDonagh and his colleagues have been invited to appear before the committee tomorrow to discuss matters including the dissolution of Nama and the staffing arrangements following the wind down of the agency, which is expected to include salaries and remuneration. 

In his opening statement to the committee, seen by The Journal, McDonagh will outline that Nama has no staff and that all staff were assigned to it by the NTMA.

‘No role in it’ 

“While the precise nature of these arrangements is a matter for the NTMA, Nama will cease to exist as a legal entity when the wind-down is complete – expected at end 2025 – and therefore will no longer have staff assigned to it,” he says in his statement.

He adds that any decisions on how the NTMA Resolution Unit will operate “will be a matter for the NTMA and I have no role in that”.

Nama was established in 2009 as part of the State’s response to the 2008 banking crisis to deal with property-backed loans.

At that time, Nama acquired 11,500 land and development and associated loans from five Irish financial institutions, with over 800 debtor connections, an acquisition value of €32bn and a par value of €74bn. 

“It was originally planned to complete the dissolution of the entire Nama infrastructure by the end of 2025. However, it has become clear that this will not be feasible as some assets may still be on Nama’s balance sheet, and some litigation cases may be outstanding at end-2025,” the chair of the committee has said. 

Related Reads

Donohoe does not expect NAMA boss to carry over €430,000 salary when he returns to NTMA job

Chaos of housing tsar controversy is a symptom of a longer running dysfunction in Housing

Tánaiste says it was correct to ‘think through’ housing tsar role but denies ‘blocking’ appointment

McDonagh will tell the committee tomorrow that during 2025, Nama will finalise the deleveraging of its remaining portfolio and ensure that any residual activity transferred to the NTMA Resolution Unit is minimised in so far as practicable.

Committee members will be told that Nama’s lifetime surplus, currently projected to be €5.2 billion, is inclusive of corporation tax payments. 

“A key part of our activity during 2025 will include the transfer of National Asset Residential Property Services, NARPS, our social housing portfolio of 1,366 homes to the Land Development Agency and remain in State ownership. We also expect to transfer two residential development sites (one in Dublin, one in Kildare) and capacity for circa 4,000 new homes to the LDA,” McDonagh states in his opening statement. 

Concerns have been raised about the retention of data and files as Nama winds down.

McDonagh will tell the committee tomorrow that detailed plans for how data and records is being worked on, with the files expected to be transferred to the NTMA Resolution Unit at the end of the year.

Entering 2025, Nama’s balance sheet included a loan portfolio with assets valued in the region of €100 million with associated par debt of €1.7 billion, mostly made up of low-value exposures. The loans of some 34 debtors currently remain under the active management of Nama. Most of these debtors are expected to exit Nama by end-2025.