Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 28 Jun 2000

Vol. 522 No. 3

Written Answers. - Dormant Accounts.

Ulick Burke

Ceist:

102 Mr. U. Burke asked the Minister for Finance the amount of money held in dormant accounts with An Post; the number of accounts involved; the plans, if any, for this money; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18708/00]

Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy):

A dormant account is one in which there has been no customer-initiated transaction for a defined period. The precise definition of dormancy in terms of its duration or the types of accounts coming within its scope has not yet been finalised. This will be settled by the Government in the context of bringing forward proposals for a scheme to deal with dormant accounts.

As regards dormant funds held by An Post, details are as follows:

	20 years	Numberof accounts	15 years	Number ofaccounts
	£m		£m
POSB	4.1	185,000	8.6	367,000

It should be borne in mind that both as regards the above amounts of money and number of accounts, these are inactive but not necessarily permanently dormant and abandoned. The proposed notification process will lead to many account-holders being reminded of their accounts and therefore to a reactivation of the accounts.