Press release
Minister Joe O’Brien publishes the Dormant Accounts Fund Annual Report 2022
From Department of Rural and Community Development
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Joe O’Brien, Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development, today (28 June 2023) published the 2022 Dormant Accounts Fund Annual Report.
Money in the Dormant Accounts Fund can be used to fund measures that address economic, social, or educational disadvantage and to support people with a disability. The 2022 Annual Report details that expenditure on Dormant Accounts measures over the year amounted to €54.6 million across 10 government departments.
Three case studies of measures supported in 2022 are included in the report:
- Works Jigsaw School Hub - €20,000 was provided to develop the Jigsaw School Hub which is an interactive online platform that strives to provide teachers and school staff with easily accessible, mental health resources and material for use in the classroom. This now provides a valuable resource to help schools and teachers in supporting mental health and wellbeing in schools, with the platform having over 13,000 users in 2022
- STEPS+ in Oberstown Campus (Skills, Training, Education, Person-Centred, Support) - The Dormant Accounts Fund provided €364,000 in funding to support initiatives in the Oberstown Campus in 2022. One focus is on career guidance and development, which the STEPS+ (Skills, Training, Education, Person Centred Support) programme supports
- Cherry Orchard Equine Centre - The Centre received €123,200 from the Department of Rural and Community Development to address disadvantage in 2022. The funding for the Equine Centre has assisted the financial sustainability of a vital community resource and centre and supported multiple events taking place in 2022
Publishing the Annual Report today, Minister O’Brien said:
“I am delighted to publish the Dormant Accounts Fund Annual Report 2022 which shows that funding of over €54 million was provided in 2022 to help address disadvantage right across Ireland. The 46 measures included in the report were implemented across Government and have helped to address a diverse range of issues such as providing programmes to support children and youths; prisoners; carers; victims of crime; people suffering from dementia; homelessness; and marginalised groups such as the Traveller and Roma Community.”
The Minister continued:
“Dormant Accounts funding makes a real difference to individuals and communities right across the country. It is helping vulnerable individuals, supporting social inclusion, and strengthening our communities. I am particularly happy to see a continued focus in 2022 on assisting the Traveller and Roma communities, for example Department of Education and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth initiatives for that community.”
Minister Heather Humphreys noted:
“I welcome the publication of the 2022 Dormant Accounts Annual Report which outlines how over €54.6 million in funding targeted disadvantage last year. Within our department, €12.3 million was utilised for measures such as the Senior Alerts Scheme, Social Enterprise, Targeted Social Inclusion Measures and Library Supports. I am delighted with progress made in increasing Dormant Account funding across Government over the last number of years and look forward to the continued positive impact it is having for disadvantaged individuals and communities across Ireland.”
Total expenditure from Dormant Account Fund in 2022 was €54.6 million for 46 measures across 10 departments. The Annual Report provides information on these measures and also detailed three case studies of measures/projects funding in 2022.
Expenditure occurred across a range of departments, funding measures to support children and youths; prisoners; carers; victims of crime; people suffering from dementia; homelessness; and marginalised groups such as the Traveller and Roma Community.
The Annual Report contain three case studies outlined below.
25 organisations shared €400,000 in funding in 2022 under the What Works Sharing Knowledge Fund (delivered by the Department of Children, Equality, Diversity, Integration and Youth). As part of this, €20,000 was provided to develop the Jigsaw School Hub which is an interactive online platform that strives to provide teachers and school staff with easily accessible, high quality, clinically informed, an evidence driven mental health resources and material for use in the classroom. This now provides a valuable resource to help schools and teachers in supporting mental health and wellbeing in schools, with the platform having over 13,000 users in 2022.
The Dormant Accounts Fund provided €364,000 in funding to support initiatives in the Oberstown Campus in 2022. One focus is on career guidance and development, which the STEPS+ (Skills, Training, Education, Person Centred Support) programme supports. This is a three year pilot which has been designed and developed by guidance counsellors in consultation with young people and staff across the Oberstown Campus. As part of this a platform has been developed which helps track and support individual interventions and supports for the young people, with the objective of assisting their development and future careers.
Cherry Orchard Equine Centre received €123,200 in funding under the Department of Rural and Community Development’s targeted social inclusion measures, which provided a total of €728,000 in support for community organisations addressing disadvantage in 2022. The funding for the Equine Centre has assisted the financial sustainability of a vital community resource and centre and supported multiple events taking place in 2022, including community events, cultural events, Easter activities for children and an equine open day which included a focus on career opportunities.
The Dormant Accounts Acts 2001-2012, together with the Unclaimed Life Assurance Policies Act 2003, provide a framework for the administration of unclaimed accounts in credit institutions (that is, banks, building societies and An Post) and unclaimed life assurance policies in insurance undertakings.
The main purpose of the legislation is to reunite account or policy holders with their funds in credit institutions or insurance undertakings and in this regard, these bodies are required to take steps to identify and contact the owners of dormant accounts and unclaimed life assurance policies.
However, in order to utilise the unused funds the legislation also introduced a scheme for the disbursement of funds that are unlikely to be reclaimed from dormant accounts and unclaimed policies for the purposes of measures to assist:
1. the personal and social development of persons who are economically or socially disadvantaged
2. the educational development of persons who are educationally disadvantaged
3. persons with a disability
