Vol. 488 No. 1
50 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Finance his views on whether there are millions of pounds of unclaimed savings in dormant accounts in banks, building societies, life assurance and other financial institutions; and whether he will publish the report on this issue completed by his Department in 1997. [5512/98]
148 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Finance the number of dormant accounts in Irish banks; the amount of money in these accounts; and the plans, if any, the Government has in relation to this money. [5468/98]
149 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Finance if he will use the money in dormant Irish bank accounts against the national debt or give it to charitable organisations. [5469/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 50, 148 and 149 together.
The House will recall that, in response to parliamentary questions asked by Deputies O'Keeffe and McManus on 19 November 1997, I outlined the position at that time in relation to the examination undertaken by officials in my Department on 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 that time would be unlikely to be cost effective from an Exchequer viewpoint.
Deputy O'Keeffe will also recall that, in response to his raising this issue on Second Stage of the Central Bank Bill, 1997, I advised him that that the subject has also interested me for some time and that I was going to let the matter rest. I also said, however, that it is not an immediate priority for me but that I will investigate this matter further during my term of office. In the meantime, I am not prepared to release the results of my officials' examinations.
