Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

I support and welcome the Bill which is based on the good experience we have had with the dormant bank accounts legislation. That scheme has raised €400 million, a substantial sum. Obviously, it is impossible to estimate what will be raised under this legislation but presumably it will be a useful amount.

My experience of the dormant accounts legislation has been good. I had two accounts, one a personal account and the other a farm account. There were tiny amounts of money in both, around £20. Nonetheless, the bank wrote to me in regard to both and, as the Minister of State put it, I was reunited with my money. In some cases a person might have forgotten the numbers and details of the account and is not sure how to pursue the matter. In any case, the legislation had that useful impact. There is a positive consumer aspect to it.

That is even more the case potentially with insurance. Bank accounts are relatively straightforward concepts. Everybody understands what a bank account is but insurance policies are complicated and many of us do not necessarily understand their implications, intricacies and mode of operation. There is a considerable act of faith involved in an insurance policy. Therefore, legislation such as this, which encourages insurance companies to get in touch with customers, is beneficial. There is no element of confiscation in the legislation, any more than there was with the dormant bank accounts legislation. If insurance companies fail to track people down, it does not alter or diminish the rights of the people concerned should they come forward later to claim what belongs to them. There is no downside to it from the point of view of the policyholder.