FRANK DALY, the outspoken boss of Nama has told the property industry to investigate some of the practices that went on during the prolonged property boom saying that a critique of the performance of the sector could prove to be a “cathartic exercise”.

He was talking at the official launch of the newly formed Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday morning, when over 250 property people turned out for the occasion. Mr Daly, who is now one of the biggest property managers in the world, told his surprised audience “the credibility of your profession would be enhanced if you could show that steps were being taken to address the mistakes of the last decade.” Quite a slap on the wrist for the estate agents and chartered surveyors who played a not ignsignificant part in property bubble. Not surprisingly the suggestion was met with a stony silence.

The most surprising disclosure is that Nama is looking at ways of providing mortgage finance to banks in an attempt to revive the property market. Nama plans to open talks shortly with AIB and Bank of Ireland.

The agency is coming under increasing pressure from the Government to start shfting some of the most valuable distressed properties it controls. Mr Daly said that this process was underway and that more properties would be coming on the market this year. He also made it clear that they would be moving against some of the 30 larger developers whose business plans have not been yet been approved.

The planned sales, he says, will provide “a significant momentum to the property market in the next three years.” However, it all seems to rest on a lot of investment coming from overseas, as well as on the availability of debt finance from the Irish banks and of course the performance of the economy. Around the Block came away more hopeful than confident that things are about to improve.