Key staff quitting Nama at a faster pace this year than in 2013

The pace of staff departures at the National Asset Management Agency appears to be quickening. Figures provided to The Irish Times show that 24 staff have left Nama in the first seven months of this year compared with 27 for the whole of 2013.

Nama declined to comment on the reasons for these departures but both its chief executive Brendan McDonagh and its chairman Frank Daly have raised concerns recently about its ability to retain staff in the context of public service pay cuts and greater employment opportunities elsewhere as the financial and property industries continue to recover.

Nama’s finite lifespan – it is due to wind up its operation in 2020 at the latest – is also thought to be a factor in staff departures. Mr Daly has argued that some form of retention payment should be considered in a bid to retain Nama staff.

In total, 84 staff have left Nama since it began its work in 2010.

Growth

However, in spite of the departures, Nama’s overall employment numbers continue to grow. The agency closed 2013 with 331 staff compared with 224 in the previous year, according to the annual report of the

National Treasury Management Agency

(NTMA), published last week.

A spokesman for Nama said staffing levels ebb and flow depending on the volume of work being carried out in a given year.

The NTMA provides staff to Nama on fixed-term contracts that last for the lifetime of the agency. The staff have no rights to redundancy payments.

Issues around staffing levels at Nama were referenced in the recent review of the agency’s work by the department of finance.

“The failure to retain staff could prove disruptive to the effective management of debtor relationships and effective oversight of debtor business plans compromising the ultimate recovery for the taxpayer,” the review stated.

“The Irish economy is beginning to recover and alternative employment opportunities are available to Nama employees.

“As a result, staff turnover could potentially become a larger problem for Nama over time.”

The Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said any proposal to help safeguard Nama's operational capacity and staffing expertise would receive "careful consideration in light of the potentially significant value implications associated with the loss of key employees".