Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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657. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the length of time funds are held in the dormant accounts fund before they can be used; and the amount in the reserve fund to date. [32941/21]

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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In line with the provisions of the Dormant Accounts Fund legislation an account is considered dormant if there has been no customer initiated transactions for a period of 15 years. The National Treasury Management Agency is responsible for management of the fund, and it sets aside a “reserve fund” for likely future reclaims by account holders or their heirs.

The closing balance in the Dormant Accounts Fund at the end of 2020 was €244 million. The annual transfer of funds from newly dormant accounts takes place in April of each year and, following the transfer this year, the total amount in the fund at the end of May 2021 was €291 million.

Of the €291 million within the fund at end May 2021, €182 million of this is held in the “disbursement fund” and is available for future use to fund measures addressing social, economic or educational disadvantage, or assisting persons with a disability. €109 million is held in the reserve fund, which is set aside for future possible reclaims by account holders or their heirs.

The 2021 Action Plan approved measures worth €51 million. The vast majority of this will be disbursed in 2021 and that will reduce the amount within the disbursement fund by an equivalent amount.

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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658. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the amount within the dormant accounts fund; the amount transferred to the fund in each year since 2011; the annual expenditure from the fund each year since 2011; the share of expenditure related to each Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32977/21]

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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The closing balance in the Dormant Accounts Fund at the end of 2020 was €244 million. The annual transfer of funds from newly dormant accounts takes place in April of each year. Following the transfer this year, the total in the fund at the end of May 2021 was €291 million.

Of the €291 million within the fund at end May 2021, €182 million of this is held in the “disbursement fund” and is available for future use to fund measures addressing social, economic or educational disadvantage, or assisting persons with a disability. €109 million is held in the “reserve fund”, which is set aside for likely future reclaims by account holders or their heirs.

With regard to the amount transferred to the fund and the annual expenditure from the fund each year since 2011, table 1 provides this information. This table also details the amounts reclaimed by account holders, or their heirs, each year, which also impacts on the value of the fund.

With regard to the share of expenditure related to each Department, under the Dormant Accounts 2012 Act the relevant Government Department is responsible for producing an annual report on the disbursement of funds. The first such report was in 2014. The Department of Rural and Community Development assumed responsibility for this area in July 2017, and prior to this it was the responsibility of a number of other Government Departments to produce these annual reports. Each of the reports, which detail spend across measures and Departments, are available here .

For ease of reference, Table 2 outlines a summary of expenditure by relevant Government Department since 2014, taking account of different Departmental configurations insofar as is possible.

The information provided demonstrates the progress that has been made in recent years in terms of increasing the use of the Dormant Accounts Fund, both in terms of the number of Government Departments involved, and the total money being disbursed from the fund. This money is being utilised across Ireland to deliver measures that address economic, social and educational disadvantage, and supports persons with disabilities.

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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659. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the steps that will be taken to identify potential additional dormant assets and incorporate them within the dormant accounts fund since the review published in December 2019; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32978/21]

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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A review to identify potential additional dormant assets was undertaken by Deloitte in 2019. This review was published by my Department in early 2020, and is available here: 

The review identified four possible additional dormant assets that warranted further consideration in terms of potentially utilising them in the future. Deloitte identified significant complexities with regard to technical, practical and legislative issues in utilising such assets.

To date the priority with regard to the Dormant Accounts Fund has been to improve its operation and the level of funding being utilised, in line with the findings of a review by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

which was published in 2017. This has seen a steady increase in the funds being disbursed each year. Last year also saw a focus on delivering an additional €50 million in Covid-19 supports which were supported by the fund.

Further consideration of the potential additional dormant assets will involve working with both the Department of Finance and the Department of Justice. Initial contact has been made in this regard with these Departments and I hope to further explore the potential use of these dormant assets over the coming months.