Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak on this important Bill. To put it in an historical perspective, one of the first Bills I ever spoke on in these Houses was a dormant accounts Bill. At the time I was very impressed as I thought it a very novel way of having a sum of money that could be spent in difficult times. This was 20 years ago when money was much scarcer than it is now. The money could be spent on projects that would not in the normal manner of things be funded through Exchequer funding. I remember the careful analysis of that earlier Bill. It was weighed against the rights of account holders to ensure that money was not drawn into the public maw and might at some time be reactivated. Careful mechanisms were put in place to ensure that should a proper claimant arrive on the scene the money would be available to that individual or to the individual's estate. This has characterised how dormant accounts have been regarded.

It is important to realise that the money is windfall money. It is not taxpayers' money nor is it money that is taken from the citizens of Ireland and assigned to a particular purpose. It is money that falls the State's way for a very good reason, that it is better to have it for public and good use than to have it lie, unused, in financial institutions. In the past, financial institutions had benefited from holding moneys such as this over a protracted period of time.

I regard the concept as extremely good. However, it brings with it a particular responsibility to ensure that the money is not treated like normal money. It should not be put into the general public fund. It should not be seen as a supplement available to line Departments. This has been the manner in which the fund has been regarded in the past. This responsibility is doubly valid now at a time of relative plenty. It should be possible to provide from the pool of money available to the Exchequer from taxpayers. This is now quite an extensive amount of money because of the economic well-being of the country. We should be able to provide for all our normal needs. Therefore, this pool of money should be used to reach communities, activities and individuals who would not be reached in the normal course of events. This presents the House with particular responsibilities, in my judgment.

Many speakers have referred to the national lottery. People would regard the national lottery as itself a great success in that it has generated a great deal of money other than taxpayers' money for good causes. However, there is great concern over the transparency attached but nobody is suggesting that a shilling has gone astray. The direct ministerial involvement in some of the disbursements means that it is not as transparent as it should be.

I refer to one case of a Member, not from my party, but a Member with ministerial rank who arrived at a function with a cheque made out to a social group. The group was very surprised to receive a lotto allocation since it had not applied for one.

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