Vol. 563 No. 4
217 Mr. P. Breen asked the Minister for Finance the reason SSIA policies were cancelled without notice for persons (details supplied) because the persons, due to unforeseen circumstances, were one day late with their payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7677/03]
The SSIA scheme was introduced by section 33 of the 2001 Finance Act. It is a statutory condition of section 33 that the investor must make a subscription in each of the first 12 months, subject to the minimum and maximum rules. The legislation is specific that where this condition is breached the qualifying savings manager must terminate the account. The onus is on the account holder to ensure that his or her monthly payment is made on time to the qualifying savings manager. In the cases referred to by the Deputy, no subscription was made for the month of February 2003. In these circumstances, the qualifying savings manager had no option but to terminate the accounts in question. As the Deputy will appreciate, the Minister for Finance cannot interfere in the administration of the scheme.
