Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 November 2018
21. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the net amount of funding that has come into the dormant account funds in 2018 after repayments to the banks of reclaimed funds; the amount it is proposed to spend on projects from the fund in 2018; the spend to date; the amount of uncommitted funds on hand, not including the statutory reserve; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45958/18]
View answerWill the Minister of State tell the House how much money has gone into the dormant accounts fund in 2018, net of repayments made to people who have claimed back the money? Will he tell the House how much of the money the Department intends to spend this year? What is the total amount of uncommitted funds in the account?
With regard to transfers into and from the dormant accounts fund in 2018, the most recent information available to me from the NTMA covers the period to the end of October, at which point €66.98 million had been transferred into the fund from dormant accounts within relevant financial institutions. A total of €17.65 million had been reclaimed from the fund. Therefore, the net value of transfers into the fund for 2018 to the end of October was €49.33 million.
With regard to expenditure on measures approved in dormant accounts fund action plans, as the Deputy is aware, measures approved in action plans subsequently require voted Government expenditure to be made available. For 2018 the total voted expenditure dedicated to dormant accounts measures across relevant Departments was €30.19 million.
Within my Department, the total voted allocation for dormant accounts measures in 2018 is €10.08 million. Expenditure of €4.1 million has been incurred to date. Further expenditure will be incurred before the end of the year.
Based on commitments made in dormant accounts action plans, the total liability under the fund stands at €82.37 million. This compares to a balance of €320.20 million in the fund at the end of October. The reserve fund stands at €87.60 million, while the amount of uncommitted funds stands at €150.23 million.
It seems that the inflows are very healthy. Every year there is an inflow. In the new year the outflows exceed the inflows. The dormant accounts fund has received €49 million, of which €30 million has been committed. Therefore, the value of uncommitted funds this year has increased by €19 million. Is that a fair summary? The money was intended to be spent on people with disabilities, communities suffering from social and economic deprivation and education, but they are not benefiting from the dormant accounts fund. It must be remembered that it arose from the famous inquiry into the deposit interest retention tax, DIRT. Will the Minister of State confirm that is the position?
Following the findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the fund which were published in 2017, my Department published a review of the dormant accounts fund in July. It set out 15 recommendations surrounding the ongoing management and administration of the fund which were aimed at ensuring it was more actively managed into the future. The recommendations sought to improve information gathering, simplify the operation of the fund and ensure funding not used by Departments was decommitted back to the fund for use in other projects, something which has been a problem until now. I am focused on ensuring the recommendations will be implemented to make the best use of the funds available. An interdepartmental group has been established to ensure the recommendations will be implemented. It is worth noting that the allocations made within the action plans have increased significantly in recent years, from €26.3 million in 2014 to €28.5 million in 2016, €40.4 million in 2017 and €39.8 million in 2018. I am new to the Department, but I will be looking at the issue of the dormant accounts fund and how it can be dealt with in the future.
On arriving in the Department the Minister of State must have been puzzled to find that he had a fund of around €200 million of uncommitted funds. There is more money coming into the fund than going out and it is growing every year. The money was supposed to be used to tackle disadvantage and for people with a disability. All of the reports recommend caution and state we should not do certain things. Will the Minister of State throw caution to the wind and make the dormant accounts fund work for the good of the people it is supposed to help? Will he insist on the money being spent and not left to collect dust in his Department?
I will not be throwing caution to the wind. Such an approach was used too often in the past. We have to look at the available funds and I am committing to doing so. I am receiving information all the time in the Department and have been briefed regularly on different matters. We will receive a further briefing on the issue of the dormant accounts fund. We will then make decisions and see what we can do to maximise expenditure from the fund for the betterment of communities. I agree that if we have money available we should use it, but it should be used prudently to ensure we will get a benefit from it. I will not be throwing caution to the wind, but I will work to try to get more money into circulation in communities.
There is a way of throwing caution to the wind without being irresponsible. The Minister of State knows that there is €200 million lying there, which is no good for anybody. It could be spent to undertake important work, if only the Minister of State would not allow himself to be ruled by an overcautious approach in the belief that doing nothing is safer than doing something. Is he willing to come before the Joint Committee on Rural and Community Development to discuss the matter in detail and, in particular, explain to us how a reserve of €200 million in uncommitted funds has been allowed to collect, despite the massive problems the country faces? It would not be difficult to spend the money in a targeted, safe and good way. I mentioned throwing caution to the wind, but somebody was overcautious when he or she collected €200 million that was supposed to earmarked for the most disadvantaged in the State, including people with disabilities. However, it has been left to lie there, mouldering.
I would be delighted to attend the committee. I was a member of it for 18 months and would be delighted to go back to talk to its members. It is important that I do so and try to come up with solutions to issues. I look forward to doing so.
