Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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415. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the value of assets transferred to the State in each of the past three years as a result of persons dying without having made a will and there is no relative to whom these assets can be transferred; the mechanisms the State has in place to ensure these assets are received; the estimated value of assets yet to be transferred to the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34551/16]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The following amounts have transferred to the State in respect of persons who have died intestate without next of kin in each of the past three years:

- 2013 - €763,830

- 2014 - €1,403,733

- 2015 - €326,233

Where next of kin come forward, the State is no longer entitled to the estate and the entitlement to the benefit of the estate it is passed to the next of kin.  The Minister is also entitled to waive an Estate or part of an estate where, following an application, it is considered that such a waiver is appropriate. In these circumstance the value of the estate in question may be reimbursed from the Intestate Estate Funds Deposit Account.

The State is the Ultimate Intestate Successor in Ireland, therefore where the State becomes aware of estates of persons who die intestate with no known next of kin, the State will take the Estate. The assets in such cases are collected by the Chief State Solicitors Office (CSSO) and, following payment of any liabilities, the proceeds are then transferred to the Minister of Public Expenditure and Reform in whom the Estate vests. These proceeds are lodged to the intestate estate funds deposit account.

The current value of assets yet to transfer to the State is unknown. However, the amount transferred to date for 2016 is €415,673.