Three years, three men, second chance?

Developers Michael O’Flynn, Paddy McKillen and David Daly have launched a challenge to the European Commission’s decision that Nama could fund house building and commercial development, because it did not break EU state aid rules.

In January the European Commission ruled on a 2015 claim by the developers that Nama was breaking state aid rules. The Commission roundly rejected the claim.

In February EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said Nama does not charge interest at less than market rates when it lends developers money.

Now the three are appealing, saying the decision is flawed, the Irish Times reports.

O’Flynn, McKillen and Daly are asking EU courts to declare a “manifest error” dating back to the original EU go-ahead for Nama in 2010. They say Nama, meant to refund the €31.8B State outlay rescuing troubled banks, should not spend its receipts on development, and that doing so represented a “sea change in the Irish State’s policy objectives” for the organisation, the Irish Times reports.

Nama has backed 7,300 housing units, with another 3,800 in the pipeline, since 2014. Another 7,500 have planning permission, whilst 8,500 are in the planning process.

Nama is also working with developers including Ballymore and Kennedy Wilson and has been promoting other sites, including the Irish Glass Bottle site in Ringsend.