Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 June 2013
63. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Finance the position on unclaimed prize bond prizes; the way these funds are used; the role, if any, of the dormant accounts funds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28571/13]
View answer64. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Finance the value of unclaimed prize bonds in each of the past ten years. [28572/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 63 and 64 together.
The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) is responsible for the State Savings schemes which includes Prize Bonds. I am informed by the NTMA that they define unclaimed prizes from the Prize Bond draws as prizes that have remained unclaimed for more than six months. Unclaimed prizes remain a liability of the NTMA to the Prize Bond holder – or their estate in the case of deceased customers. Unclaimed prizes are not transferred to the Dormant Accounts fund but are held in a Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) account and thus are available to the Exchequer.
The NTMA has advised that the value of unclaimed prizes from the Prize Bond draw amounted to €2.146 million as at the end of May 2013. Amounts unclaimed in respect of previous years are as follows:
|
Draw Year |
Amount (€m) outstanding at end-May 2013 |
|
Older |
0.73 |
|
2003 |
0.07 |
|
2004 |
0.09 |
|
2005 |
0.09 |
|
2006 |
0.10 |
|
2007 |
0.11 |
|
2008 |
0.12 |
|
2009 |
0.15 |
|
2010 |
0.18 |
|
2011 |
0.21 |
|
2012 |
0.30 |
|
Total |
2.15 |
Details of all unclaimed prizes are available on the website StateSavings.ie or can be obtained by writing to State Savings, GPO, FREEPOST, Dublin 1.
