Charlie McConalogue
Question:108. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans in relation to dormant accounts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53161/13]
View answerWednesday, 11 December 2013
Questions (108)
Written answers
Under the Dormant Accounts legislation, balances on dormant accounts with banks, building societies and An Post and the net encashment value of certain life assurance policies are paid into the Dormant Accounts Fund, which is managed by the National Treasury Management Agency. The primary purpose of the legislation is to re-unite the original account holders with their moneys, including all interest due. In addition, the legislation provides that disbursements from the fund may be made for charitable purposes or for purposes of community benefit.
The Disbursement Plan of 2009, put in place by the Dormant Accounts Board, will be replaced shortly by a new disbursement scheme in accordance with the Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Act 2012. The 2012 Act also provides for the preparation of an action plan, to give effect to the disbursement scheme. Allocations for disbursement will continue to focus on programmes or projects to assist the personal and social development of persons who are economically disadvantaged, the educational development of persons who are educationally disadvantaged and persons with a disability and will have regard to the policies and priorities of the Government in so far as they relate to the types of assistance being proposed, the amount of moneys available or likely to be available and ensuring that the moneys are expended in a cost effective manner.
In 2013, I allocated €6.385m for Dormant Accounts Measures, which includes €2.835m to be used to support labour force activation measures in local authorities. The corresponding provision for 2014 is €5.456m, which will allow for the continuation of funding to support the labour force activation measures and the implementation of a modest action plan. Further data in relation to Dormant Accounts Funding is available on my Department’s website at www.environ.ie.