Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is a little bit of a lacuna in the law. I mean spending money from dormant accounts is always considered to be Exchequer spending because, technically speaking under the present law, it lives in the fiction that every dime that was every put into dormant accounts from the very beginning could all on some fine day be claimed back by the original owners. We know that the Central Bank when it had notes could decide that some of them had gone missing and would never turn up again, even though if one did find a note one could go back with same.

The dormant accounts scheme has been in existence for a long time. I do not think there has ever been a year when the draw out has been greater than the amount in the new dormant accounts. One would also have first call on any other moneys that existed if it ever happened that there was a year where there was more reclaims than new money, and it should be more than sufficient.

It would give the Exchequer a windfall profit of €300 million or more. Could that issue be examined? I fought that when I was in government but there was an awful reluctance in the Department of Finance to change it. It is absolutely Alice in Wonderland stuff. I would bet that this year there was a €20 million net inflow.