Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Ó Cuív for bringing forward this Private Member's Bill entitled the Safe Deposit Boxes and Related Deposits Bill 2022. I am pleased to inform the House that the Government is not opposing the Bill. It is a detailed Bill which covers a wide-ranging and complex area. In the first instance, it is important to understand what it sets out to achieve.

Part 2 seeks to enable the establishment of a register of property deposited in safe deposit boxes in relevant financial institutions, which would mainly be the commercial banks. This includes, for example, the name and contact details of the depositor, the date on which the property concerned was deposited with the institution, and the date on which the property was last accessed by or on behalf of the depositor. The proposed register would also detail information relating to the provisions outlined in the Bill itself, such as details relating to the examination of unclaimed property by relevant institutions and the possible retention of unclaimed property by the director of the National Museum of Ireland. These initial provisions are key to the proposed Bill, with the register forming the basis on which property would be defined as unclaimed.

The draft Bill states that deposited property shall be considered to be unclaimed property where:

(a) the property is deposited in an institution for a period of not less than 80 years,

and

(b) (i) the property has not been accessed by the depositor since the date on which it was deposited in the institution concerned, or (ii) a period of not less than 80 years has passed since the date on which the property was most recently accessed by the depositor.

As such, the Bill relates to safe deposit boxes which have not been accessed for a very long time indeed and which, in all likelihood, the rightful owners or their heirs are unaware of. I accept it is not all in boxes, as the Deputy outlined at the opening.

Where safe deposit boxes have been identified as unclaimed, the Bill states that institutions should notify persons who appear to be the holders of unclaimed property and effectively seek to reunite the property with its rightful owner. This includes through publication of notices which detail unclaimed property held by the institution and which notify the public of the steps that will be taken once the safe deposit box is deemed unclaimed.

Part 2 also provides for the examination of unclaimed property by the relevant institutions for the purpose of ascertaining or otherwise confirming the identity of the depositor. The timeframe for that inspection relates to the time since the safe deposit box was last accessed, and the inspection involves at least two persons not associated with one another. Relevant information ascertained from the inspection would then be included in the aforementioned register.

All of the above provisions in Part 2 very much relate to the regulation of financial institutions and place significant responsibilities on the relevant institutions. Given this fact, it is important to note the provisions would need detailed consideration by the Minister for Finance and the Central Bank with regard to the processes, regulation of the process and enforcement of the regulations proposed.

Part 3 builds on this regulation of safe deposit boxes and covers the proposed retention by the State of unclaimed property. The provisions would require institutions to give notice to the director of the National Museum of Ireland of the details of property deposited and inspected as a result of being deemed as unclaimed property. The director, or a person authorised by the director, would then be obliged to make a determination as to whether the unclaimed property concerned is of historical, archaeological or artistic importance. Where the unclaimed property is deemed to be of due importance, the director is empowered to retain such property on behalf of the State. Importantly, such property can be reclaimed by the rightful owner or heirs, with the director to be satisfied that the claimant is the relevant depositor.

As with Part 2, the substantive issues of Part 3 are not within my remit or the remit of the Department of Rural and Community Development. It is important to note the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media would need to consider these provisions carefully. Significant resources would appear to be required for areas under her remit. There are issues around the expertise and proposed role of the director of the National Museum, particularly when assessing items such as items of artistic merit and decision-making on reuniting property with rightful owners.

The issue of the Dormant Accounts Fund, which is within my remit, arises with regard to Part 5. This Part provides for the sale by the institutions of unclaimed property not retained by the State in a manner that would obtain the best price reasonably attainable. These funds would then be transferred to the Dormant Accounts Fund net of reasonable costs incurred by the institution. In addition, cash deposits would be transferred to the Dormant Accounts Fund directly. Again, the rightful owners can reclaim such funds from the relevant institution, with the funds then recouped from the Dormant Accounts Fund.

There are a number of interesting considerations here, for example, the role of financial institutions in selling such property, the issue of rightful owners seeking to reclaim items which have been sold, and indeed the current value of cash deposits left in safe deposit boxes more than 80 years ago. A sum such as £500 would have been a very large amount of money 80 years ago, but today would perhaps not even cover the costs associated with getting the funds legally transferred into the Dormant Accounts Fund, but the Deputy has made the point that this is not necessarily about the monetary value of what may be uncovered.

The objective of the Bill may relate more to the possibility there are items of historical or cultural value within some safe deposit boxes that the State could take into its care for the public good as opposed to a source of revenue for the dormant accounts fund.

As I said, this is a detailed Bill covering a complex area that cuts across a number of Departments and agencies. I have noted throughout that many items need further careful consideration across a number of Departments on how best to achieve the desired objective. It will be necessary to consult widely across government on this issue. It is also important to clearly understand the scale of what is proposed and the potential cost to the Exchequer.

I again thank the Deputy for bringing this Private Members' Bill forward. It represents a valuable contribution in helping to address a challenge that has been raised for many years, albeit one that raises a number of issues that require careful further consideration.

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