Eamon Gilmore
Question:49 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Finance the Government's proposals, if any, for the future of the Trustee Savings Bank; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19662/97]
Written Answers. - State Banking Sector.
Under the terms of the Trustee Savings Bank Act, 1989, neither I, as Minister for Finance, nor the Government has the power of initiative in relation to changing the status of TSB Bank. My power as Minister extends only to authorising a reorganisation of the bank and any such authorisation is subject to the approval of both Houses of the Oireachtas. The initiative for change must come from the Trustees of TSB and, so far, I have not received a formal proposal from the Trustees to this end. However, should the Trustees make such a proposal, I will give it full consideration.
Jim O'Keeffe
Question:50 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Finance his views on the fact that there are millions of pounds unclaimed in banks and financial institutions; and the steps, if any, which will be taken by way of notification procedures or otherwise to remedy this situation. [19558/97]
Liz McManus
Question:79 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Finance if his Department has an estimate of the amount of money left in dormant accounts in banks and building societies, particularly in regard to account holders who have died; his views on whether it is appropriate that the banks should continue to have the use of these moneys; the discussions, if any, he has had with the financial institutions on this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19666/97]
I intend to take Questions Nos. 50 and 79 together.
This issue is one which has been around for some time and I would draw the Deputies' attention to my predecessor's reply to a parliamentary question on 22 April 1997 when this matter was last raised in this House. The position is that, earlier this year, a study group within my Department, comprising officials who deal with banking issues, completed an examination of 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 banks and the building societies. They reported their findings to my predecessor who decided that, given the potential legal and constitutional issues, the amounts likely to be involved and the administrative and other difficulties associated with establishing an operationally viable system to deal with dormant accounts, further action in the matter at this time would be unlikely to be cost effective from an Exchequer viewpoint. I too have examined the Department's report and am in agreement with the conclusion reached by the previous Minister.
On the specific query raised by Deputy O'Keeffe concerning notification procedures, I would like to advise the House that, in general, the banks' duty of secrecy prevents them from disclosing information about any account to a third party without the express consent of the account holder. This duty of secrecy is a legal one arising from the implied contract between the bank and its customer, and is fully recognisable in case law. It is, of course, open to any account holder to come to some arrangement with his or her bank concerning the issuance of regular statements, which would alert themselves or their relatives to the existence of any accounts.
In relation to the particular concern of Deputy McManus regarding deceased account holders, I should point out that even if the legal duty referred to above did not exist, the fact is that unless someone tells them, banks will not be aware of, say, the death of a customer and the consequent dormancy of the account.