THE GOVERNMENT will maintain close liaison with the Stormont Executive to ensure the establishment of the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) will not have a negative impact on the Northern economy.
Minister for Enterprise Arlene Foster has told The Irish Times that Minister for Finance Sammy Wilson would be in constant contact with Brian Lenihan following their meeting on the issue in Dublin last week.
She said such open lines of communication were “hugely important for Northern Ireland as we want to know what impact [Nama] is going to have on the Northern Ireland economy and that is why it is best to keep those channels open.”
Her remarks follow comments made by Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness earlier yesterday in the Assembly, in which he expressed fears of a “fire sale” of toxic Northern assets worth nearly €5 million which could further depress the local economy.
“The big concern here in the North, and it is mainly in land banks, is that there could be a fire sale which would effectively have a very damaging and distorting effect on the economy,” he told the House.
Mr McGuinness said the €4.8 billion of local assets left exposed had considerable implications, equivalent to one-quarter of the output of the North’s economy.
“The cross-jurisdictional implications are significant in the absence of statements on the discount to be applied to the Irish bank loans and the precise length of time that Nama will operate,” he added. “A longer lifespan and larger discount would allow Nama to pursue loans less aggressively as short lifespan and small discount would appear to be disadvantageous from our viewpoint.”
However, Mrs Foster said Mr Lenihan had promised efforts would be made to ensure no damage was caused to the Northern economy. “[Mr Lenihan] said in return ‘look we will keep talking to you about this issue, above all things we don’t want to impact on the Northern Ireland economy’,” she said.
Mrs Foster said she was not concerned there was no formal role for a Stormont input into Nama, explaining there was no need for such a role as open communication would ensure the well-being of the Northern economy.
“The relationship between the two finance ministers is strong, they will keep communicating about the issue so that the impact isn’t disproportionate.”
She denied such a move was tantamount to an emerging all-island economy. A spokesman for the Department of Finance said: “While we welcome the dialogue and understand the concerns expressed, we do not envisage the Executive taking a formal role.”