The Cabinet has agreed draft legislation on the establishment of the National Assets Management Agency (Nama). It will be published on Thursday.
Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan brought his colleagues through the detail of the legislation at a four-hour meeting yesterday and the Cabinet reconvened today to discuss it.
The Bill is expected to be published on the Department of Finance website, www.finance.gov.ie on Thursday.
Opposition politicians and the public will be able to study the proposals before a final version is debated in the Oireachtas after it is recalled in mid-September.
The Government is making plans for foreign banks not protected by the State guarantee to participate in the €90 billion "bad bank" scheme.
Many of the developers involved also have loans outside Ireland.
Officials expect that loans to the 50 largest property developers, worth some €30 billion, will be moved into the new agency by December. The price at which they will be acquired has yet to be determined.
Nama will operate under the aegis of the National Treasury Management Agency, whose chief executive Michael Somers said last week he did not see another solution to the banking crisis.
The decision to establish Nama was announced by the Minister in his budget statement of April 7th, "with a view to addressing in a comprehensive way the problem of impaired or potential impaired assets in the banking system".