Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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731. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the current total value of the Dormant Accounts Fund; the projected size of the Dormant Accounts Fund for each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68132/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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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.

The Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht has responsibility for the overall administration of the Dormant Accounts Fund, with individual Government Departments responsible for the delivery and administration of their own measures. All measures funded must be in line with the objectives set out in the legislation, that is, to address economic, social or educational disadvantage or to support persons with a disability.

With regard to the current value of funding available for the Dormant Accounts Fund, at the end of October 2025 there was €217 million in the Dormant Accounts Fund, which is held and managed by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA). Of this, €138 million is held in reserve by the NTMA, for future reclaims. This leaves €79 million available for disbursement to measures. This will be supplemented by inflows in April 2026, the level of which depends on the number of accounts becoming dormant.

My Department published the 2026 Dormant Accounts Fund Action Plan in November 2025. It outlines measures and funding across 11 Departments, with total funding of €46.97 million to support 56 measures. These measures will be funded from the above available funding, and the future inflows in April 2026.

Ensuring a sustainable use of this funding is central to the work of my Department, and future levels of funding are dependant on the levels of inflow into the fund. It is envisaged that, to sustain the Fund, expenditure will need to be gradually reduced to €40 million per year going forward. As the fund is made up of monies from dormant accounts, and the funds can be reclaimed at any time by the beneficial owner, it is difficult to predict future net transfers into the fund - and therefore final decision need to made based on actual levels of inflows each year.

Further information on the Dormant Accounts Fund, including all published Action Plans and Annual reports, is available on my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-rural-and-community-development-and-the-gaeltacht/policy-information/dormant-accounts-fund/.