Frank Fahey (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I apologise for my late arrival. Section 17 provides that the certificate of compliance will be signed off by a duly authorised officer of the institution and state the register of unclaimed policies has been properly maintained. The register will contain a great deal of detail about the institution's unclaimed policies, for example, the dates on which notices were sent to policyholders, the dates on which the policies were deemed unclaimed and all details regarding claims from the dormant fund in respect of a given policy. Therefore, if the register is properly maintained and this is certified by the authorised officer, all reasonable efforts must have been made by the institution to identify unclaimed policies.

I draw the attention of the Senator to sections 8(3) and 9(6) which provide that it is an offence for an undertaking not to give notice to the holders of an unclaimed policy in accordance with the respective sections. The introduction of an additional obligation under different terminology in the context of the certificate of compliance could give rise to uncertainty as to what exactly was the obligation on companies in this regard. It could, for instance, be regarded as inferring the need for the institutions to take steps beyond the stringent measures already laid down in the Bill.