Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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395. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the current status of the dormant accounts funding; the amount spent on this in the past five years, with a breakdown of expenditure for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36771/25]

Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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396. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the current breakdown of expenditure of the dormant accounts funding; an estimate of expenditure under this vehicle over the lifetime of this Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36772/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 395 and 396 together.

The main purpose of the Dormant Accounts Acts is to reunite account holders with their funds. Unclaimed funds are transferred to the Dormant Accounts Fund, which is managed by the National Treasury Management Agency. The beneficial owner has a right to reclaim their money at any time.

Legislation governing Dormant Accounts established an administrative framework within which Departments could apply for funding from the Dormant Accounts Fund. The Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht holds responsibility for this function.

The total expenditure under the Fund for the last five years was €297 million. Regarding the current status of funding, at the end of 2024 there was €217 million in the Dormant Accounts Fund, with €126 million of that held in reserve for those reclaiming their funds. This leaves €91 million available for disbursement. This will be supplemented by inflows during 2025, the level of which depends on the number of accounts becoming dormant.

The Dormant Accounts Fund Action Plan 2025 outlines expenditure of €44.8 million to fund 51 measures across 10 Government Departments. The programmes and projects in the Action Plan target social, economic and educational disadvantage, and people with a disability - in line with the objectives detailed in the legislation.

It is envisaged that, to sustain the Fund, expenditure will need to be gradually reduced to €40 million per year going forward. These decisions, however, will be based on the actual level of inflows each year. The 2026 Action Plan will be published in November 2025 and it is estimated that it will total closer to €43 million.

Expenditure of Dormant Accounts funds from 2025 to 2029 is estimated to be around €209 million if current trends continue with similar flows into and out of the fund. Outlined in the following table is estimated expenditure up to 2029 and also actual expenditure for the previous five years.

Further information on the Dormant Accounts Fund, including all published Action Plans and Annual Reports, and the current Disbursement Scheme for 2023-2025 is available on my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/769773-dormant-accounts-fund-annual-action-plans-and-reports/