Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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35. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the amount of unallocated funds presently in the dormant accounts fund; the reason for their non-allocation, other than the statutory reserve; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15674/15]

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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The Dormant Accounts Act 2001, together with the Unclaimed Life Assurance Policies Act 2003 and the Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Acts 2005-2012, provide a framework for the administration of unclaimed accounts in credit institutions (i.e. banks, building societies and An Post) and unclaimed life assurance policies in insurance undertakings. Information from the National Treasury Management Agency, which manages the Dormant Accounts Fund, indicates that the net value of uncommitted funds in the Account as of end March 2015 is €111.46 million. This does not include a Reserve Fund, currently standing at some €64.18 million.

The level of uncommitted funds in the Account is dictated by a number of factors, in particular the three year aggregate and Ministerial level expenditure ceilings, which have been put on a statutory basis in the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Acts and which must not be breached.

In this connection, the Deputy will be aware that, under Government Accounting procedures, disbursements on dormant accounts measures are paid in the first instance “up front” from a Department’s Vote in the same way as with any other spending programme. Therefore, Government Departments have to source funding for dormant accounts programmes from their Exchequer allocation in the annual Estimates. Once expenditure takes place, either on administration of the measure, or by the project itself, it is reimbursed to the Exchequer from the Dormant Accounts Fund in accordance with the Dormant Accounts Acts, in the form of Appropriations-in-Aid payable through the relevant Department’s Vote. While the costs associated with dormant accounts measures are Exchequer neutral, Government Departments cannot spend Appropriations-in-Aid directly themselves once they are reimbursed from the Fund. These are instead refunded to the central Exchequer. In addition, the Dormant Accounts Fund is not a source of mainstream funding and the complementary nature of the Dormant Account Funds can impact on funds available for mainstream projects within Departmental Votes.

In accordance with the Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Act 2012, a new Disbursement Scheme was approved by Government in December 2013. The 2012 Act also provides for the preparation of an Action Plan to give effect to the Scheme. The current Plan includes some €24 million of measures across a range of Government Departments and Agencies that will provide diverse supports for disadvantaged communities, including measures under my Department to promote social enterprise and innovation, both urban and rural, and measures to promote youth employment, employability and entrepreneurship.