National Treasury Management Agency (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026: Second Stage

Question proposed: “That the Bill be now read a Second Time.”

Minister of State at the Department of Finance (Deputy Robert Troy)

I am pleased to introduce Second Stage of the National Treasury Management Agency (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026. This Bill represents an important and, in many ways, historic milestone. It provides for the final steps in bringing to a close two of the most significant Irish responses to the global financial crisis, namely, the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, and the special liquidation of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, IBRC. Both NAMA and the IBRC have now substantially finished their work. This Bill is about bringing these long-running processes to an orderly conclusion, ensuring that what remains is managed effectively and in the best interests of the State. It is also about ensuring continuity and legal certainty and the appropriate stewardship of the small number of residual matters that remain outstanding.

The legislation provides for the dissolution of NAMA on a day to be appointed by the Minister for Finance. On that dissolution day, all remaining assets, liabilities, rights, obligations and records of NAMA will transfer to the National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA. The Bill also provides for the transfer of residual activity from the IBRC special liquidation to the NTMA, by way of a ministerial direction and a transfer agreement between the special liquidators and the NTMA. Once that transfer has taken place, the special liquidators will be in a position to complete the final steps of the liquidation process in accordance with company law, including the dissolution of any remaining subsidiaries and the resolution of outstanding administrative and tax matters. Taken together, these provisions ensure that the State can close these complex and long-running processes in a structured manner.

Before turning to the detail of the Bill, it is important to reflect briefly on the scale of what has been achieved. NAMA was established in 2009 at a time of global economic crisis. It acquired loans with a par value of €74 billion for a consideration of €31.8 billion, including €5.6 billion in state aid to the participating institutions. Since then, NAMA has worked through an extremely complex portfolio, navigating market challenges, legal issues and fluctuating economic conditions. The results have been substantial. NAMA redeemed €30.2 billion in senior debt in 2017, three years ahead of schedule, removing a significant contingent liability from the State’s balance sheet. It also fully repaid €1.6 billion in subordinated debt by 2020, leaving the agency debt-free.

Over its lifetime, NAMA has generated a contribution of €5.6 billion to the State. This includes €4.7 billion in cash returns, over €450 million in corporation tax, and the transfer of significant land and housing assets to the Land Development Agency. NAMA has also made a tangible contribution to housing supply. It facilitated the delivery of over 44,000 homes, including social housing. NAMA supported the regeneration of strategic areas, such as the Dublin docklands, where NAMA helped deliver over 4.2 million sq. ft of commercial space and 2,183 residential units. Today, the scale of remaining activity is minimal. The residual portfolio transferring to the NTMA is expected to be valued at less than €25 million.

Similarly, the special liquidation of IBRC represents one of the most complex liquidation exercises ever undertaken in the State. At the point of liquidation in February 2013, the institution held a loan portfolio of approximately €21 billion, involving over 15,000 borrower groups, with assets and legal issues spanning 22 jurisdictions. Over the intervening years, the special liquidators have resolved the overwhelming majority of these matters, including disposing of assets, concluding borrower relationships and managing complex cross-border matters. All unsecured creditors have been paid in full. Approximately €1.7 billion has been returned to the State, with €470 million distributed directly to the Exchequer and further distributions expected. What remains at this stage is typical of a liquidation of this scale, mainly residual litigation and associated matters which, by their nature, take time to conclude. The NTMA is well placed to assume responsibility for this final phase. Preparatory work has been undertaken in close co-ordination with NAMA, the special liquidators and the Department of Finance to ensure a smooth transition.

I acknowledge the considerable contribution made by all involved, including NAMA, the NTMA and the special liquidators, in reaching this point. The professionalism, dedication and expertise shown over many years have been central to delivering these outcomes for the State. While NAMA in particular became synonymous with our recovery from the financial crash and those difficult years, it is held in international regard as a positive example of how a bad bank can work.

Turning to the Bill itself, the legislation has three principal objectives. First, to provide for the dissolution of NAMA and the transfer of all remaining assets and obligations to the NTMA. Second, to enable the transfer of residual matters from the IBRC special liquidation to the NTMA, or to a subsidiary of the NTMA, through a structured legal mechanism. Third, to confer on the NTMA the specific functions and powers required to manage these residual matters to completion. The Bill also makes necessary amendments to the NTMA Act 2014 and the IBRC Act 2013, and repeals the NAMA Act 2009. It includes a range of consequential amendments to ensure the Statute Book is updated appropriately.

In structural terms, the Bill is divided into four Parts and includes three Schedules. Part 1 includes sections 1 to 5, inclusive, which deal with standard preliminary matters such as commencement, interpretation and repeals.

Part 2 covers sections 6 to 16, inclusive, and provides the legal framework for the dissolution of NAMA. It sets out how property, rights and liabilities transfer to the NTMA, and ensures continuity of contracts, records and ongoing legal proceedings. Importantly, it provides that any actions or proceedings involving NAMA will continue seamlessly, with the NTMA standing in its place.

Part 3 deals with the IBRC special liquidation. It covers sections 17 to 20, inclusive, and amends the IBRC Act 2013. Together, these provisions enable the Minister to direct that residual matters be transferred to the NTMA through a transfer arrangement and provides for the NTMA to be substituted into any related legal proceedings. It also ensures that contractual arrangements continue without disruption.

Part 4 amends the NTMA Act 2014 by inserting sections 49B to 49AD into that Act. Together, these provisions equip the NTMA with the necessary functions and powers to manage these residual matters to be transferred from both NAMA and the IBRC special liquidation. These powers are carefully defined and limited. They mirror those previously available to NAMA, but only to the extent necessary to complete outstanding work. They cannot be used by the NTMA beyond that specific purpose, and I want to make that clear today. The overall approach is targeted and proportionate. It ensures that the NTMA has the tools it needs to complete the work, while maintaining clear boundaries around those powers.

In conclusion, this Bill is about bringing closure to a defining chapter in the State’s economic history. It reflects the fact that the extraordinary interventions put in place during the global financial crisis have, for the most part, achieved their objectives. What remains is limited in scale but requires careful and professional management. This legislation ensures that those remaining matters can be brought to a proper conclusion in an orderly, efficient and legally robust manner. I commend the Bill to the House and look forward to engaging with Senators on its provisions.

Senator Pat Casey

I welcome the opportunity to contribute on this Bill and I am happy to support its passage through the House. There are not many Bills that allow us to draw a line under one of the most challenging periods in our State's economic history, but that is precisely what this legislation seeks to do. This is important legislation which brings closure to two significant institutions that were created in response to the financial crisis, namely, the National Asset Management Agency, and the Irish Banking Resolution Corporation. The Bill provides for the remaining residual activity to be transferred to the NTMA, ensuring that outstanding matters can be managed effectively and brought to proper conclusions.

When NAMA was established back in 2009, Ireland was facing the most serious economic and banking crisis in the history of the State. Extraordinary measures were required to restore confidence in our financial system and stabilise the economy. NAMA was tasked with acquiring and managing distressed properties and related loans in participating financial institutions and maximising the return to the taxpayer. With the benefit of hindsight, it is important to recognise the scale of that achievement. NAMA acquired loans to the par value of €74 billion, repaid all €32 billion in debt issued to acquire those loans and generated a lifetime contribution of approximately €5.6 billion for the Exchequer.

As the Minister of State has already pointed out, it has also been cited internationally as one of the most successful examples of a State-backed asset management agency established in response to a banking crisis. Its contribution went beyond the balance sheet. NAMA played a significant role in housing delivery, facilitating more than 44,000 homes and helping to provide almost 3,000 social homes. It also contributed to the wider regeneration of the Dublin docklands and supported wider economy recovery at a particularly difficult time in the country.

Likewise, the IRBC special liquidation has made substantial progress since 2013. The vast majority of its assets have now been released and significant distributions have been returned to the Exchequer. What remains is mainly related to litigation and related matters which, by their nature, may take time to conclude. The approach adopted in the Bill is, therefore, practical and sensible. Rather than maintaining separate organisations for a small number of remaining cases, responsibility will transfer to the NTMA. which has the expertise, governance structures and resources necessary to manage these matters to completion. There are also wider lessons in the legislation. The financial crisis imposed enormous hardship on families, businesses and communities throughout Ireland. While none of us would wish to relive that period, it is important that we acknowledge the role played by institutions such as NAMA in helping the State navigate those challenges and, ultimately, return to economic stability.

Reflecting on this period, and on a more personal note, it is right to remember the late Brian Lenihan, the then Minister for Finance, who bore the burden of steering the country through the financial crisis while battling a terminal illness. Whatever views people may hold on the decisions taken at the time, few would question his dedication, courage and sense of duty in continuing to serve the State under such extraordinarily difficult personal circumstances. The Bill, thankfully, represents the final stage in this process. It provides for orderly wind down, ensuring any remaining obligations continue to be properly managed and protecting the interests of the taxpayers. It is a fitting conclusion for structures established to deal with exceptional circumstances, which have now largely fulfilled their purpose. I think the Minister of State and all of the officials for bringing forward this legislation and we are pleased to support the Bill.

Senator Joe O'Reilly

I join in Senator Casey's recognition of the patriotism of the former Minister, Brian Lenihan, God rest him, who died so young. It was so sad that he passed away as such a young man. Undoubtedly, the stresses he operated under could not have been a help to him. His patriotism is unquestionable and I am very happy to associate myself with the remarks.

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the National Treasury Management Agency (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 and I am pleased to support the Bill on Second Stage. It represents an important milestone in Ireland's economic recovery. NAMA was established during one of the most difficult periods in our country's history. It had a clear objective to stabilise the banking system, recover value for the taxpayer and help to restore confidence in the Irish economy following the financial crisis. I recognise the achievement in this context of €5.6 billion for the taxpayer and I agree with the Minister of State's summation of the success of NAMA as an institution. The return to the taxpayer is significant.

More than 15 years later, we are now in a position where the Government believes NAMA has fulfilled its purpose and its remaining function can be transferred to the National Treasury Management Agency. This is a positive reflection on how far Ireland has come since the exceptionally challenging years. However, it is also right that Members in the House ask questions about how the transition will take place. NAMA manages assets of enormous value on behalf of the State and as its functions are transferred to the NTMA, we must ensure there is complete transparency, proper accountability and continued protection of the public interest. Confidence in our public institutions depends not only on achieving results but also on maintaining public trust throughout.

Housing is a very important issue and the Minister of State cited the achievements of NAMA in this context. I ask the Minister of State specifically whether the remaining assets and loans that will go to the National Treasury Management Agency could be targeted, whereby acquired moneys could go to affordable housing and social housing and could be targeted in this area. This is something the public would reasonably want to see happen and I am interested in this. I know a lot of the loans and bad debt have been dealt with but a residual amount of money is going over and I would like to know whether it can be targeted.

Housing remains an important issue. While NAMA's purpose was financial stability rather than housing policy, many of the assets involved development land and development sites. Ireland today continues to face an acute housing shortage and young people are very concerned. As someone representing Cavan I see this in all of our towns and villages. We have too many people commuting because they come down the country to get affordable housing and then commute back to Dublin. This is very challenging in terms of quality of life.

I welcome the transfer of NAMA's remaining responsibilities to the NTMA. I hope that any remaining land and development opportunities continue to be managed with the wider public interest in mind, particularly where they can contribute housing delivery, as I have just said. Overall I believe the Bill provides a sensible framework for bringing the work of NAMA to a close while ensuring continuity through the NTMA. At the same time, we should recognise that the end of one chapter also presents an opportunity to focus on the challenges that remain. As I have said, my sole concern is with regard to affordable and social housing being developed insofar as we can do so. This focus needs to continue through the NTMA. I welcome the Bill and it is good that we are at this point. I recognise the achievement of NAMA and I hope we are embarking on a completely new chapter now, particularly for our young people who aspire to a bright future. There are also many young people abroad whom we want to attract back to our country.

Senator Pauline Tully

Sinn Féin will engage constructively with the Bill. We support the orderly winding down of NAMA, the completion of the IBRC process and the transfer of the remaining activities to the NTMA. However, let me clear that we will continue to demand accountability for the failures of the banking collapse and for the deeply damaging and flawed political choices that followed. Those choices cost people their homes, their livelihoods and their futures. Accountability cannot be brushed aside simply because an agency is being wound down. The Government would like to portray this as the successful conclusion of a dark chapter in history but it is not a conclusion. Ordinary citizens of this State continue to be impacted to this day.

The NAMA fire sale of assets was the prequel to the current housing disaster, and yet again we see soaring housing lists, rising homelessness and rents going up and up. Members of the Government have, in the past, spoken confidently about the State recovering all moneys owed on these loans. This did not happen. Tens of billions of euro were not recovered for the taxpayer. NAMA sold assets instead of managing them, and did so at a time when it did not seek to maximise value.

That is the reality.

I would not describe NAMA as a success. It facilitated the fire sale of a massive volume of Irish assets to vulture funds. The Comptroller and Auditor General stated that NAMA failed to meet its own targets in social housing and land disposal, yet we still hear attempts to defend the fire sale approach. The CEO of NAMA stated in the Oireachtas that everything was done correctly, but the public deserves to see the full picture, warts and all. For this reason, an Teachta Doherty proposed a simple and reasonable amendment to this legislation. He asked for the production of a report on NAMA's performance, including whether higher rents could have been achieved had the property portfolio been managed for longer rather than sold off. That is all we asked for - transparency, accountability and a factual assessment of what happened. NAMA took on €74 billion in loans. It recovered €37 billion, less than half of that. That is a reality and it is why Sinn Féin pushed for a report. As NAMA is wound up, the public deserve to know how an agency that took on €74 billion in loans ended up recovering less than half of that. They deserve to know whether better management, longer term planning or a different strategy could have delivered higher returns for the State. They deserve to know whether the decisions made were in the public interest or in the interests of expediency.

The winding down of NAMA should not mean the winding down of accountability. The legacy of NAMA is the missed opportunities for social housing, the failure to use land strategically and the billions of euro lost to the taxpayer. It is the fact that public assets were sold off when they could have been used to deliver homes, communities and long-term public value. Sinn Féin will continue to demand answers and we will continue to challenge the narrative that NAMA was some kind of success story. It was not. It was a response to a crisis created by political choices and it was shaped by future political choices that did not serve the public well. As this Bill proceeds, Sinn Féin will engage constructively, but we will also be firm. The public deserves transparency and accountability.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance (Deputy Robert Troy)

I thank the Senators for their contributions, which were all largely in support of the Bill, recognising that winding down NAMA is the right thing to do. Sinn Féin has been co-operating by putting forward amendments. We will not accept them and we have set out the rationale for our belief that they are not necessary. Over the lifetime of NAMA, there has been continuous monitoring, overview and oversight, which is right and proper, as other Senators have said. NAMA's quarterly and annual accounts were laid before the Oireachtas and audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General. Statutory five-year reviews were conducted by the Department of Finance and the Comptroller and Auditor General has also undertaken reviews independently, the most recent of which was last month. In addition, the Fitzgerald review provided further independent assessment of NAMA's strategy and outcome and found that NAMA's approach was appropriate. For all those reasons, we have not been in a position to accept an Teachta Doherty's amendment.

Sometimes, when Sinn Féin portrays NAMA and the sale of assets, it compares today's economy with the economy at the time NAMA was set up when, in many instances, you could not give away property, let alone sell it. NAMA was set up to take the bad loans from the banks so that the banks could get back to lending and we could repair or economy. Our economy, thankfully, has been repaired and is functioning now. We have full employment and we are running budget surpluses. As a consequence, we have the resources necessary to make the interventions in housing, the area Senator O'Reilly alluded to. The largest number of social houses on record was provided last year. We have brought in new measures, such as the affordable purchase scheme. Senator Casey strongly advocated for affordable housing in our party, and that scheme was introduced a number of years ago. The shared equity scheme was introduced to help bridge the gap and the help to buy scheme, which was introduced by the previous Government, has continued in recent years.

In all of this, we recognise that more needs to be done to help people into housing, help them acquire their own house and help those who cannot acquire their own house to have access to a permanent house through the provision of social housing. One would wonder whether we would have been in position to do all of that were it not for the intervention and the correct and difficult decisions that were taken at the time. Sometimes people portray that time as if we were in isolation. There had been a global financial crash. The oldest banks in the world in America had failed. We were not alone, but we took the right decisions and because of those decisions, we are in a much better position today.

NAMA has provided benefits. It transferred €4.7 billion to the Exchequer and paid €440 million in corporation tax. Land with the potential to deliver 7,000 homes and 1,366 social homes was delivered to the Land Development Agency. In the overall scheme of things, we are drawing a line under what was a difficult time in our history and in the economy. We are now in a much better position thanks to the decisions taken at the time. I thank Senators for their support today and look forward to engaging with them further on Committee Stage and Report Stage next week.

Question put and agreed to.

Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 12.45 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 1.30 p.m.

Sitting suspended at 12.45 p.m. and resumed at 1.30 p.m.

Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 2 Jul 2026