Vol. 521 No. 1
146 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Finance if any comparative study has been undertaken in relation to dormant accounts in other member states of the EU; if so, if he will give an indication of the ways in which they are dealt with in those other members states; and in particular if 15 years is the shortest defined period for the purposes of dormancy in the EU. [16602/00]
No formal comparative study has been undertaken by my Department in relation to the regimes applying to dormant accounts in other EU member states. However, when this issue first came up for policy consideration some years ago, my Department did obtain from the Central Bank details of the position in some member states.
More recently, we got details from the Irish Bankers' Federation of a survey it had conducted on dormant accounts policy in the EU. Most member states do not have any legislation on dormant accounts. While there is a legislative framework in six countries, for two of these – Austria and Sweden – it is a case of the national Statute of Limitations applying. For the other four countries, the position is as follows:
|
Country |
Dormancy Period |
|
France |
30years |
|
Greece |
20years |
|
Spain |
20years |
|
Portugal |
15years |
