An Roinn Airgeadais Department of Finance Request Ref. FOI/004/2016 Mr Gavin Sheridan gavinsblog@gmail.com January20l6 /9 Dear Mr Sheridan, I refer to the request which you have made under the Freedom of Information Act 2014 for records held by this Department. Following your consultation with the FOI Unit in the Department of Finance, I received request for, All correspondence between developer Johnny Ronan and the Department (and vice-versa) a in 2015. As outlined in the attached schedule, I have decided to grant your request in part. Reasons for decision The relevant FOI exemptions which apply to the records identified are set out in detail in the schedule attached to this letter. ln relation to where a record is indicated as being exempted under Section 37, the record concerned contains personal information. The release ofsuch information is exernpted under Section 37(1) ofthe FOI Act 2014. In each case where a public interest test is required under the Freedom of lnformation Ac12014, such a test has been performed and is detailed in the attached schedule. Schedule of records A schedule is attached to this letter. It shows all the records located in the Department that are considered to be relevant to your request. The schedule describes each record, and indicates whether the record is released in full, released in part or not released. Access Arrangements The records are supplied in digital copy. Rights of appeal You may appeal this decision. Please note that a EUR30 fee applies for an appeal, with the exception of an appeal against the imposition of a fee. In the event that you wish to make such an appeal, you can do so by writing to the Freedom of Information Unit, Department of Finance, Merrion Street, Dublin 2 attaching evidence of the appropriate fee having been paid Tithe an Rialtais Sr,id Mhuirfean Uacht Baite Atha Ctiath 2 Fdn / Tel: 353 1 676 7571 Facs / Fax: 353 1 678 9936 cho Aitiiit / LoCa[:1890 66 10 10 http://www.finance.gov.ie Govemment Buildangs Upper Merrion Street Dublin 2 lreland and quoting the above reference number. Payment should be made electronically (details below). You should make your appeal within 4 weeks (20 working days) llom the date of this notification; however, the making of a late appeal may bejustified where there are reasonable grounds for extending that period (Sn. 2l (7)). The appeal will involve a complete reconsideration of the matter by a more senior member of the staff of this Department. Details to be used for electronic palnnents: Name of Bank: Danske Bank IBAN: IE35DABA95 I 9904000490 I BIC: DABAIE2D * for Remittance Information to be included on the payment that will help identify what the payment is for, i.e. the FOI request reference number. Please ask Yours sincerely, (v- Deciding Officer Department of Finance FOt 004.2016 FOlRequest Allcorrespondence between developerJohnny Ronan and the Department (and vlce versa) in 2015. Record No. t No. of PaSes Srief Description & Date of Record 2015 02 27 emailerchanSe between Ronan's PA and corporate Orfice 2 2015 1103 J Ronan to Minister 3 201512 02 Ministertoi Ronan Reply Mr 3 of Refural- Dcclsion: Grant/ Part 8a5i5 Grant/ Retuse Sectlon ot Act Part Grant 3 Part Grant 1 Grant Section 37 Section 37 Publlc lnlarest Conslderation (if appllc.ble) Reason for Decision Public interest test applied. Balance lies in not releaging the information as redacting mobile phone number and Record contains personal information. email address does not alter the substance of the record. Public interest test applied. Balance lies in not releasing the information as redacting email address does not alter the substance of the record. Record contains personal information. Sign Declan Reid (Deciding Ofticer) Date ?6'/'Zolb M- _-,t Young From: Sent: To: Attachments: Michael Noonan 03 NovembEURr 20L5 14 40 Minister, FW: John Ronan letter to Mlnister Noonan .,ohn Ronan letter to Minister Noonan 03 11 15.pdf Importance: H Follow Up Flag: Flag Status: Follow up Completed Categories: Referred Subject: igh RK From: lohn Ronan Imailto: Sent: 03 November 2015 14:39 To: michae Lnoonan @oireachtas. ie Cc: enda.kenny@oireachtas.ie; a lan. kelly@oireachtas.ie; office@alankelly. ie Subject: lohn Ronan letter to Minister Noonan lmportance: High Dear [\Iinister Noonan, Please find attached letter. Regards, Johnny Oireachtas email policy and disclaimer. h lic t,' ddisclairrerl Beartas riomhphoisl an Oireachtais agus s6anadh. [([ ff lfrf.ql.'uqlltas. id, pirrliar.]rent,'gu,/c() lils,'bcartasri()rrl 1 hph()islanoilcac htaisauusscana(ll) RONAN GROUP 3rd November 2015 BY EMAIL & POST Dear M in ister Noona n, I am taking the unusual step of writing to you directly on this matter, as I do not believe NAMA will give proper consideration to the proposal set out below. This is particularly so given the difficult history between that organisation and myself. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since the in-house Counsel for Treasury Holdings, Rory Williams, wrote to you on 6th Septembe( 20L2.ln that letter, Mr Williams voiced "grave concerns ...at the manner in which NAMA was behaving towards [Treasury Holdings]. We were not alone in having deep misgivings at NAMA's treatment of our company: Justice Finlay Geoghegan's judgement stands as a public indictment of NAMA's attitude and behaviour towards us. That letter recounts how, " Treosury wos forced recently to seek o judiciol review ol NAMA'S behoviour,...while the oction did not succeed on grounds unconnected with the substonce of NAMA's behoviour, it is importont to note thdt in her judgement, Justice Finloy Geoghegon lound in [Treosury's] fovour in respect ol every one of the lour points comploined of. ln her written judgement, Justice Finloy Geoghegan lound thot: 1) 2) 3) NAMA'S decision to enforce oqoinst Treosury Holdings wos o public low decision ond os such omenoble to judiciol review; NAMA wos under o duty to give Treasury Holdings on opportunity to be heord prior to toking the decision to enlorce; Treosury Holdings wos not qiven the opportunity to be heord by NAMA prior to NAMA toking the decision to enforce; ond 4) loirly ond rcosonobly in toking the decision to enforce. lt wos in breoch ol thot obligotion by reoson oI its Ioilure to heor Treosury; its foilure to consider o relevont motter - investor interest in the ocquisition of the Treosury loons, ond the unJoir NAMA wos under o duty to oct procedure in the timing of o credit committee meeting. It is olso noteworthy thot during the proceedings Justice Finloy Geoghegan indicoted her willingness to occommodote a resolution of the issues through mediotion - the judge's suggestion wos rejected out ol hond by NAMA." As you know, in the past, we also wrote to you, the Taoiseach, and NAMA on many occasions warning of the dramatic shortage of office space and residential units in Dublin, Regrettably, our concerns seemingly fell on deaf ears. l'honc: *.1i.1 I 661 :107 I a\: Ircasul Iluilding- Lorrcr -l5l I 661 ll58 (;rand ( an!l Strcc1. I)ublin l. lrclllnrl rr$ $,ronangrouprerlestatc.com , { RONAN GROUP Mv Drooosal I a m prepa red to take on the ma nagement of the development of the Treasu ry Holdings sites in order to maximise their return for the lrish tax payer, at no cost. To be clear lwill do it for nothing. I firmly believe that notwithstanding the wasteful destruction of our business (including Battersea Power Station- which has cost the state billions, our China business, and Treasury Holdings) I can still ensure 100% repayment of Treasu ry Holdings debts by my getting involved in developing the sites out. lt really is galling to see great assets left sitting for years without the laying of a single brick since NAMA took over. I am perhaps uniquely placed to take on this task given my previous development experience. I have also an extremely skilled and dedicated team in place. Naturally, should the proposal be of interest to you, I can flesh out the deta il of what precisely I am proposing. I firm ly believe that my offer will ultimately be in the best interest of the taxpayer and do hope you give it serious thought. I look forward to hearing from you, Regards, Joh n Ronan cc. An Taoiseach - Mr Enda Kenna cc. Minister for the Environment - Mr Alan Kelly I'honcr.15-i I 661 ll07 lLr.r: -15-'l I 661 1258 'lrcrsuO lluilding. l-o\rcr (;rand ( anal Slrcct. l)uhlin l. lreland nn n,ronangrouprcolcstetc.aom An Roinn Airgeadais Department of Finance Oifig an Aire Office of the Minister fEn:r L--5' Ref: l5l4140/l\4F \,/ Mr John Ronan Ronan Group Treasury Building Lower Grand Canal Street Dublin 2 jronan(rDr onan grouprealestate.com U-cg*\t'-A a Nwemter Dear Mr Ronan, 2015 Thank you for your letter & email of3 November 2015, regarding your engagement with NAMA. The Department ofFinance was not a party to thejudicial review to which you and, previously, Mr Williams, have referred. Therefore, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the judgernent. With regard to your proposal to manage sites within the NAMA portfolio, you will appreciate that NAMA's engagement with its debtors and any decisions it makes arising from that engagement, are solely matters for the NAMA Board in line with its statutory independent mandate. I do not have a role in NAMA's commercial decisions and, therefore, it would be more appropriate for you to discuss proposals of this nature directly with NAMA. I have brought the contents of your letter to NAMA's attention. I hope this is of some assistance to you. Yours sincerely. (-c+ Michael Noonan TD Minister for Finance ]lthe an Raallais SrAid Mhuirfean Uacht Baite Atha Cliarh 2 FoIl / Telr 353 1 604 5626 Facs / Faxr 353 1 676 1951 Glao Artiiil / LocallrlSgO 66 10 10 htip //www.finance gov ie Governnrenl Buildings Upper [rerfion Slreet Dublin 2 Ielan(1