Published: Wednesday, 30th December, 2009 5:30pm

Athlone native appointed to board of NAMA

An Athlone native has been appointed to the board of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA).

Eilish Finan, a financial consultant, who is originally from, Retreat Park, Athlone, and attended school in the Convent of Mercy, Moate, was appointed to the board of NAMA last week.

Ms Finan was among the seven board members announced by the Government last week.

The Government named former Revenue Commissioners chief Frank Daly as its chairman, while other board members include former banker Michael Connolly, accountant Peter Stewart, insolvency specialist Brian McEnery, former county council manager Willie Soffe and Steven Seelig, an adviser at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC, who will join the board next May.

Brendan McDonagh, who has held the position of interim chief executive of NAMA since May, is to retain this position. Mr McDonagh and the chief executive of the National Treasury Management Agency, John Corrigan, make up the two remaining positions of the nine-strong NAMA board as ex-officio members, as they both hold other offices.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said the members represented a very strong board with a heavy skills matrix. Approximately half the board had applied for the jobs, while the other half were approached. The Department of Finance had received more than 800 applications.

The salaries of board members are still subject to discussions.

Mr Lenihan had consulted with Opposition parties on the appointments. He said he had contemplated seeking a chairman for NAMA outside the State, but felt it was important to have a chairman who had a comprehensive knowledge of Ireland and Irish affairs.

"I could find no one better than a former chairman of the Revenue Commissioners," he said.Mr Frank Daly will be stepping down from his current role as a Public Interest Director at Anglo Irish Bank.

Mr Steven Seelig, will be appointed to the board in May 2010, when he retires from the IMF. In the meantime, Mr. Seelig will be available to provide advice, in a personal capacity to the NAMA board.Mr Lenihan said: "It is of critical importance that the members of the NAMA board are suitably qualified and experienced to ensure that NAMA can discharge its functions under the legislation in an efficient and effective manner. I am satisfied that following an exhaustive selection process the high calibre of the appointments which I have announced will mean that the NAMA Board has the right people to steer NAMA towards its goals including restoring stability to the Irish financial system and improving credit availability."