Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

240. To ask the Minister for Finance to outline his views on expanding the reach of the Dormant Accounts Acts to include the credit union movement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10663/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Dormant Accounts legislation is a matter for the Department of the Environment Community and Local Government (DECLG).

The Dormant Accounts Act, 2001 (as amended) provides for accounts in credit institutions to be transferred to the Dormant Accounts Fund when an account has been dormant for 15 years. Credit unions are currently not subject to the dormant accounts legislation. Accordingly, accounts in credit unions that have not been reclaimed by the owners for at least 15 years are not transferred to the Dormant Accounts Fund.

The Credit Union Act, 1997 (as amended) does not make reference to Dormant Accounts. Dormant accounts in credit unions, and the practices surrounding them, are governed by Rule 22 of the Standard Rules for Credit Unions published by the Irish League of Credit Unions.

I have been informed by DECLG that an analysis of the benefit of adding dormant credit union accounts to the Dormant Accounts Fund has not been carried out. In practical terms, increasing the amount available in the Fund does not necessarily allow for the introduction of new dormant accounts measures or programmes, which is the focus of DECLG in respect of the Fund. While applying the provisions of the dormant accounts legislation to credit union accounts could increase the size of the Fund, Government Departments must source monies for dormant accounts programmes and measures from their Exchequer allocation in the same way as with any other funding programme. When the monies expended on dormant accounts measures and programmes are reimbursed from the Dormant Accounts Fund, the refund is to the Exchequer rather than to the spending Department. For this reason, dormant accounts expenditure is subject to the same constraints within Departments as any other spending programme.

In addition, expenditure on new dormant accounts measures or programmes would serve to increase Government debt levels, as monies disbursed from the Dormant Accounts Fund belong to the account holder, who can reclaim it at any time, and not to the State. Consequently, every euro spent from the Fund is regarded in accounting terms as a potential Government liability.

It would be a matter for Government on the advice of the Department of Finance or DCELG to decide on any extension to the Dormant Account legislation to include credit unions. However, there are no plans at present to introduce such a change.