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Minister Joe O’Brien publishes the Dormant Accounts Action Plan 2025
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Joe O’Brien, Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development, today (4 November 2024) announced funding of €44.8 million from the Dormant Accounts Fund to address disadvantage right across the country.
He launched the 2025 Dormant Account Action Plan in Balbriggan at Bremore Educate Together Secondary School who have received Dormant Account Fund support.
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 2025 Action Plan allocates funding of €44.8 million to 51 measures to be delivered across 10 government departments.
Launching the Action Plan today, Minister O’Brien said:
“I am very pleased to officially launch the Dormant Accounts Action Plan 2025 which provides funding of €44.8 million to help address disadvantage right across Ireland.
“The 51 measures approved for funding in 2025 will be implemented across Government and will help to address a diverse range of issues such as homelessness, traveller equality, youth disadvantage, migrant integration and sports measures for disadvantaged communities.”
The Minister continued:
“Every year Dormant Accounts funding makes a real difference to individuals and communities right across the country. The 2025 Action Plan being published today will help ensure that we can continue to support the most vulnerable in society.”
Minister Heather Humphreys noted:
“I welcome the 2025 Dormant Accounts Action Plan which will see €44.8 million in funding targeted at addressing disadvantage across the country. The Dormant Account Fund has continually aided the most vulnerable.
“Within our department, it will allow continued funding of €2.1 million for the Senior Alerts Scheme and €5.5 million for Rethink Ireland. It will also see support for Social Enterprise of €2 million and for the many individual groups under the Targeted Social Inclusion Measure receiving €780k in total.
“These interventions, and similar measures across Government, make a real difference in our society."
Dormant Accounts Fund Action Plan 2025
This document details the Dormant Accounts Action Plan for 2025.
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The Department of Rural and Community Development was established to promote rural and community development and to support vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities throughout Ireland.
Its focus is on strengthening community resilience and social cohesion, supporting communities so that they are empowered to face current and future challenges.
In total, 51 different measures, to the value of €44.8 million will be supported under the 2025 Action Plan. A full list of measures to be funded under the 2025 Dormant Accounts Fund Action Plan is set out in the table below.
Many measures have been funded in previous Action Plans and have now been approved for continued funding in 2025 to enable the measures to operate again next year. The majority of approved measures will progress in 2025, with each government department responsible for delivery of their own measures. Minister of State Joe O’Brien asked Ministers to continue to propose actions that would be of benefit to the Traveller community. Measures can progress over a number of years with funding drawn down from the Fund as spending is incurred.
Some examples of measures approved for funding include:
- €10 million for investment and actions aimed at improving participation in sports in disadvantage communities and for persons with disabilities
- over €3 million for traveller initiatives and services across 5 departments
- €2.9 million for youth and community justice services aimed at countering the influence and impacts of crime on young people and in communities
- €2 million to support social enterprises to address social and economic disadvantage
- €2.2 million for a youth and family initiatives to provide young people with the soft skills needed to improve employability
This Action Plan builds on previous plans and ensures continued support for individuals and organisations right across the country. Funding under the 2025 Action Plan has decreased by 5.9% from 2024. Further reductions are required in the coming years to sustain the fund.
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; or
3. persons with a disability
The following table provides a summary of measures and allocated funding under the Action Plan 2025 to each relevant government department. Full details are within the Action Plan itself.