The Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 was published last Thursday, 24 June 2004. This fulfils a commitment given by Government on 19 December last, following its review of arrangements for dormant accounts funding. At that time, the Government committed to maintaining an open, transparent and accountable process for dealing with applications for dormant accounts funding.
These commitments have been honoured in the draft legislation in the following ways: the objectives of the disbursements scheme will remain unchanged; disbursements will continue to be within the framework of objectives and priorities set out in the dormant accounts disbursements plan; application processes for dormant accounts funding will be transparent and publicised; decisions on disbursements will be made and publicised by Government; appropriate arrangements will be put in place so that the spend from the dormant accounts fund is clearly separate and additional; and the future role of the board will focus on preparation of the disbursements plan, reviewing progress in achieving objectives and assessing the additionality and impact of spend.
The Bill will be debated in the Seanad this week.