Limerick deputy Willie O’Dea will return to the new Dail next week though with a much reduced share of the vote in his Limerick City constituency. Given the carnage wrecked on the Fianna Fail party in this election, Willie might now be breathing a sigh of relief but only a few months ago Willie the barrister was nearly having conniptions worrying about a building site in Limerick owned by a Liam Carroll company, a site that was falling into disrepair and becoming a health hazard as well as a magnet for criminality. The site was likely to have gone to NAMA but what was troubling Willie was concern that if he made any approach to NAMA, that he would fall foul of the NAMA rules on lobbying. Former tourism minister Mary Hanafin also seemed unsure about NAMA’s anti-lobbying rules and the representations she could make to NAMA in respect of the troubled hotel sector. Neither politician was alone in their confusion so their colleagues in the Committee of Public Accounts addressed the issue last November 2010 when they were questioning the NAMA CEO and chairman. The following is an extract from the session:
Deputy Michael D’Arcy: I will touch upon the question of developers and banks being negligent. When I say negligent, I am referring to certain premises and sites being left in neglected states. NAMA’s role differs from ours, yet we are receiving reports from the general public concerning dangerous sites. Mr. Daly mentioned how it is an offence to lobby. To whom should a public representative go if he or she is receiving complaints about neglected estates that are in the possession of banks, developers or NAMA?
Mr. Frank Daly: When I referred to lobbying, I did not mean the normal type of information that a public representative might want to pass on to NAMA. There would be no difficulty in that respect.
Deputy Michael D’Arcy: If the information is of that nature.
Mr. Frank Daly: Yes.
Mr. Brendan McDonagh: We would welcome it. If people can give us information, we can take matters up with the borrower directly to determine the situation. We have noticed that everyone assumes every estate in a neglected condition is NAMA’s, but many of them are not or they are funded by other banks.
Deputy Michael D’Arcy: Many of them are NAMA’s.
Mr. Brendan McDonagh: I accept that.
Deputy Michael D’Arcy: Clarification is good. People seem to be terrified to ask NAMA a question for fear of prosecution.
Mr. Frank Daly: No. That is not lobbying. Lobbying is when someone tries to influence a decision of NAMA for personal benefit. Passing on information is not remotely like that.
One site that has received widespread attention has been 16 Moore Street in Dublin, scene of the signature of the surrender order which put an end to the 1916 Rising. There is a campaign to preserve the building which is earmarked for demolition as part of NAMA Top 10 developer, Joe O’Reilly’s redevelopment of the area. The campaign has gained some traction with the involvement of descendants of the participants in the Rising including James Connolly Heron, the great grandson of effective commander in chief of the Rising, James Connolly. There is a Facebook campaign which has attracted over 4,000 members, in the Oireachtas politicians have questioned the redevelopment and in January 2011 housing minister Michael Finneran made a statement in support of the group and there has been a letter-writing campaign. The building itself looks practically derelict today and there are concerns for its safety.
Another group is concerned at the deterioration of the former Hume Street hospital just off of St Stephen’s Green in central Dublin which was to be developed by Michael Kelly whose loans might now be in NAMA. And up and down the country there are many new developments which stand unfinished and there are other redevelopments which have stalled with the implosion of the property bubble. So what can you do if you have concerns, particularly if you believe the property is subject to a loan taken over by NAMA?
(1) You can contact your local council
(2) You can contact NAMA but you’re likely to get a response similar to this one received from NAMA by supporters of the Save Hume Street from Destruction campaign:
“Please be advised that the National Asset Management Agency acquires loans and not the assets underlying the loans. Accordingly a property underlying a loan acquired continues to be the responsibility of the debtor. Your email makes reference to section 141 of the Agency’s Act [grants rights to NAMA to enter property secured by a NAMA loan, for the purposes of securing the property]. Please be advised that NAMA is aware of the various rights available to it pursuant to the terms of the NAMA Act and will exercise such rights, where appropriate and at its discretion. Please be advised that the National Asset Management Agency is statutorily obliged to keep confidential all information in relation to the debtors whose loans it has acquired and can’t confirm or deny whether any specific asset has been acquired.”
(3) It seems that you might be able to meet with NAMA. The 16 Moore Street campaign group is reported to be meeting with both the NAMA CEO and chairman on Thursday this week and no doubt they will let us know the outcome through their Facebook page.
(4) You can contact the developer or the bank if you have the details
(5) You can contact An Taisce if the building is listed (your local council should be able to help with establishing the building’s status)
(6) You can contact the Gardai with complaints of criminal behaviour
(7) You might consider writing to the press, for example to Frank McDonald the Environment Editor of the Irish Times
(8) You can consult the Derelict Sites Act 1990 and the Planning and Development Act 2000 to see if there is any action you can take
Remember that NAMA has a commercial remit – we all want it to make a profit. So it might be asking too much of NAMA to expend time and money on a property that may be demolished eventually anyway. That said, as the Moore Street campaign shows, you can get NAMA’s attention if you have the support backing you up.
This entry will be updated with further news from the Moore Street campaign and others and with news of hazardous NAMA sites.
NAMA Wine Lake 
Their are 12 apts in letterkenny that were all practically sold but then the developer went into liquidation. Now all is under the control of nama and the administrator. Buyers have mortgages approved, money ready to spend on kitchens, sanitary wear etc but nama apparently won’t release funds to complete the apts. Another example of where nam a are holding up the sale of properties, the sale of these properties will release funds into the Market where the buyers will spend money on White goods adding vat etc back to the economy. One buyer has threatened to go to the national media with the story and was today assured by nama that funds have been made available to the administrator to finish the apts. A local fg td said today that govt back working next week and this would be top of his agenda! Another example of Nama not working!
The Hume Steet Hospital situation is just sad and nasty….The developer hasn’t even done the minimum and says he has no money, I could have sealed off the doors myself with some plywood and a cordless drill .. and I am a woman !!
What I feel is disrespect; to all those who lived, worked suffered and died in that hospital over 100 years; the people who built these classic Georgian buildings over 250 years ago; The present day neighbours who now have to deal with criminal activity and syringes; The Gardai who are not a private security company; and We, the citizens of this country who have to pay for the mistakes of greedy people who want only for themselves and do not consider community, ethics, morals and a common good.
I do hope with the new government that there is a big change and correction in how we manage this mess. I also think it is up to us as citizens to get involved and do what we can to change things in our own communities.