Vol. 478 No. 1
40 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Finance the plans, if any, he has to regulate the area of dormant credit balances held by the commercial banks or other financial institutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10408/97]
As I indicated in my reply to a previous parliamentary question by Deputy O'Rourke — see Official Report of 27 June 1996 — a study group within my Department, comprising officials who deal with banking issues, was examining the general issue of dormant accounts held in credit institutions.To facilitate this examination they had been in contact with the industry, including representatives of the Irish Bankers' Federation and the Building Societies Association. My officials have since completed their examination and have reported their findings to me. Given the amounts likely to be involved and the administrative and other difficulties associated with establishing an operationally viable system to deal with dormant accounts, I have decided that further action in the matter at this time would be unlikely to be cost effective from an Exchequer viewpoint.
