The Minister for Finance has said the Dáil will, if necessary, be recalled over the summer to pass the legislation establishing NAMA.
Speaking on The Week in Politics, Brian Lenihan said his aim was to publish legislation on the National Assets Management Agency before the end of July.
Minister Lenihan's comments came ahead of today's deadline for those banks and building societies covered by the State guarantee, to provide detailed breakdowns of their property and development loan portfolios to National Treasury Management Agency officials working on the NAMA project.
Mr Lenihan said that ‘[there] were enormous practical difficulties with NAMA’ which was why officials were taking time in doing the preparatory work with the banks.
The minister added that the Government ‘would call back the House over the summer, if necessary, to enact the legislation’ as without the realisation of the NAMA project, there would be a continued ‘denial of reality’ by the banking sector on the extent of their losses.
Mr Lenihan said loans held by the banks could not be transferred to NAMA until the legislation was enacted.
