As I indicated in response to a similar question on 23 February last, it has long been my desire that dormant funds should be transferred from financial institutions to the care of the State in order that they may be used for the common good. A similar approach was also recommended by the recent Committee of Public Accounts DIRT inquiry. To this end, I have circulated proposals to my colleagues in Government setting out my proposals in this area. As soon as the Government makes a decision on the matter, I will be making an appropriate announcement.
Subject to Government approval, my Department will be consulting representatives of the financial services, including the Central Bank, with a view to bringing forward definitive proposals.
As to the extent and value of dormant accounts, no overall information is available as to how many dormant accounts there are or how much is in them. Obviously, the answer would depend on how one defined the term "dormant account". However, my Department, in consultation with the financial institutions, carried out a preliminary survey in the mid-1990s which indicated that there was £15 million in accounts which had been dormant in banks, building societies and the Post Office Savings Bank for 20 years or more. This did not include the value of any dor mant insurance policy proceeds. No further estimates as to the value of dormant accounts have been made since then.
I am not in a position at this stage to outline the details of my proposals but, as I said in the House on 23 February, I have advocated a procedure whereby all financial institutions would be required to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the lawful owners of such accounts are identified in the first instance and the funds returned to their control. The procedure I envisage would also ensure that at all stages persons entitled to dormant accounts would have the right to have the funds returned to them.