Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Estates of those who have died intestate and without known next of kin vest in the Minister as Ultimate Intestate Successor under Section 73 of the Succession Act, 1965.

Where an estate falls to the State under Section 73, it is administered by the Chief State Solicitor under the direction of the Attorney General. The proceeds of such estates are remitted to the Intestate Estates Funds Account which is under the control of the Department of Finance. The role of the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform is to approve waivers in accordance with Section 73 and to perform functions and to give instructions, as necessary, in his capacity as Minister in whom the property is vested.

My Department has consulted with the Chief State Solicitor’s Office and the Department of Finance on identifying material for reply to this question. The answer is based on the information available to and accessible by this Department. It has not proved possible to source and retrieve the totality of the information sought by the Deputy.

The table below shows the net funds for intestate estates received in the years 2004- 2024

*this is a minus figure because of significant payments in respect of a waiver and to next of kin who emerged subsequent to the proceeds of an estate having being been remitted to the Account and which exceeded the funds lodged in 2015

According to the information available to the Department the number of estates on which the above table is based is over 500. These include a large number of remittances from HSE institutions most of which are for small or trivial amounts.

Under Section 73 of the Succession Act, 1965, the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Deliver and Reform has power to waive the State's interest in escheated estates. Every application for waiver is referred to the Office of the Chief State Solicitor for consideration. The CSSO, in consultation with the Attorney General's Office, as appropriate, deals with the legal issues involved. The Minister makes his decision on an application for waiver following consideration of the advice of the Attorney General.

The considerations taken into account include:

(a) Where the applicant performed essential services or substantial acts of kindness for the deceased person;

(b) Where the deceased person left a document of a testimatory character which was not valid as a will and under which if valid the applicant would be a beneficiary;

(c) Where there existed between the applicant and the deceased person, over a long period, an association which was similar to some close blood relationship;

(d) Where the deceased person made his or her home with the applicant for an appreciable period and became regarded as a member of the applicant’s family;

(e) Where there are other exceptional circumstances.

The records available to my Department show that since 2004 there have been 51 waivers given in accordance with Section 73 of the Act. The records also show that €1.3m (monetary property) and other property (land and buildings) was waived.