NAMA insists it never committed to funding Bray transport bridge or Dublin Road upgrades
The Wicklow PeopleThe National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) has pushed back against claims that it committed to funding major infrastructure works linked to the former Bray Golf Club lands, during a detailed and at times pointed exchange at a recent meeting of the Public Accounts Committee.
The discussion, led by committee chair Wicklow TD John Brady, centred on long standing confusion over who promised what in relation to a proposed transport bridge over the River Dargle and improvements to the Dublin Road, commitments Deputy Brady says were explicitly referenced in a NAMA letter dated September 24, 2018.
Deputy Brady opened the exchange by revisiting the troubled history of the Bray Golf Club site, which entered NAMA during the financial crisis before being placed under the control of Deloitte as receiver. The lands were later sold and are now being developed by Ballymore.
Ballymore purchased the 52.6‑acre site for €27.5 million in 2019. Planning applications followed, including proposals for large‑scale residential development. In 2026, An Coimisiún Pleanála granted permission for 159 homes, despite local objections about height, density, and overshadowing.
Deputy Brady noted that several commitments were understood to have been made while the site was still under NAMA’s control, including a pledge to fund up to 25pc of a new transport bridge and to contribute to road improvements in the surrounding area. He asked directly whether those commitments remained in place and whether they had transferred to Ballymore.
NAMA chief executive Brendan McDonagh responded by saying that any such commitments were not made by NAMA itself. He explained that receivers, acting on behalf of NAMA, routinely engaged with local authorities during the planning process and could enter into discussions or provide letters of support to facilitate planning applications.
These engagements, he stressed, were part of the receiver’s legal obligation to maximise the value of the site, not binding commitments by NAMA.
“When the site was sold, those would have transferred with the site to the purchaser,” Mr McDonagh said, adding that any obligations arising from planning discussions now rest with Ballymore.
He emphasised that NAMA did not directly commit to funding the bridge or road scheme and that such matters would have been handled by the receiver in the context of planning negotiations.
The Wicklow TD then referenced the 2018 letter, which he said explicitly mentioned NAMA’s contribution to both the bridge and the Dublin Road improvement scheme. Mr McDonagh said he had not seen the letter but did not dispute its existence.
He explained that in some cases, local authorities sought letters of support from receivers or NAMA to help move stalled sites forward.
These letters, he said, would have indicated that if NAMA still owned the site and intended to build on it, it would fund planning‑related obligations. However, once the site was sold, any such assurances ceased to apply.
An impression of the new homes at Sea Gardens, Bray.
The conversation then turned to the physical constraints of the site itself. Deputy Brady highlighted that part of the land lies on the River Dargle flood plain, raising questions about how this factored into NAMA’s deliberations.
Mr McDonagh said NAMA employed three planners who engaged directly with local authorities and were transparent about flood‑risk issues.
He stated that NAMA would not spend taxpayer money seeking planning permission for development on flood‑plain land and would inform local authorities accordingly.
“We would not waste taxpayers’ money building on a flood‑plain,” he said.
The exchange underscored the complexity of the Bray site, which has been the subject of local frustration for years due to stalled development, flood‑risk concerns, and uncertainty over infrastructure commitments.
Deputy Brady, who served on Wicklow County Council during part of the period in question, expressed concern that the narrative surrounding NAMA’s social housing offers to local authorities risked portraying councils as unwilling to accept suitable housing for use. He noted that in Bray, some of the properties offered were simply not fit for purpose, despite acute housing need.
“Any local authority would take the hand off you if they thought they were getting suitable housing,” but some of the properties offered “were not fit for purpose.”
Mr McDonagh accepted this point, saying NAMA made all available units known to local authorities, who then assessed suitability based on local conditions. He acknowledged that some units were unsuitable and said local authorities had valid reasons for rejecting certain properties.
“I fully accept that some of them might not have been suitable but if they were not suitable, they were not suitable.”
The hearing concluded with the chair thanking Mr McDonagh, who is expected to step back from Oireachtas committee engagements.
At the end of the exchange, NAMA’s position was clear: the agency maintains it did not directly commit to funding the bridge or road improvements, placing responsibility firmly with Ballymore and the planning conditions attached to the site.