Seanad debates

Wednesday, 12 February 2003

Unclaimed Life Assurance Policies Bill 2002: Second Stage.

 

The structure for the disbursement of funds provided for in the Bill is ingenious. It is obviously an attempt to strike a balance between providing the kind of slush fund about which Senator Phelan spoke and a transparent feature. I am more than a little bewildered by what we have ended up with. The board is now required to draw up a plan that observes the general principles set out in the Bill but the Minister, in consultation with the board, still has the power to direct that a programme be funded from the moneys assembled in the fund. The description in the Bill of what the moneys can be used for is pretty broad and no doubt the plan would be, too. We need to decide whether we want a transparent policy implemented by the board or allow the Minister to decide. The latter seems to be the most sensible option but if we want the Minister to make the decision, we should remove the bureaucratic underlay set out in the Bill.

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