State spends €43m taken from dormant bank accounts

Rethink Ireland chief executive Deirdre Mortell with Emily Kelly at Bunratty Castle, Co Clare, at the launch of the €1.5m Clare Communities Fund, which is supported by the Dormant Accounts Fund. File picture: Eamon Ward

Over €43m was taken from dormant bank accounts and unclaimed policies and redirected to social equality measures by the State in 2025.

The Dormant Accounts Fund can take money from accounts in Irish credit institutions that have not seen any customer-initiated transactions in over 15 years. 

Funds can also be taken from life assurance policies that are considered dormant five years after the end of a specified term.

In 2025, the National Treasury Management Agency distributed funds towards NGOs and charities, Traveller housing, migrant integration, and training initiatives for juvenile inmates in the Oberstown children’s detention centre.

While the Dormant Account Fund is designed to reunite account holders with their funds, money ends up in State hands if the efforts are unsuccessful. 

The fund opened 2025 with a balance of €215m.

In Cork, funding was allocated towards Cork Deaf Association, where the organisation trained 634 public sector workers in Irish sign language through 28 sessions.

“Cork Deaf Association has helped reduce communication barriers and support more responsive services for the deaf community,” states the 2025 report from the Dormant Accounts Fund.

“The project has also created a strong foundation for longer-term change through the development of a nationally accessible CPD programme, helping to advance equality and reduce barriers for one of Ireland’s most marginalised communities.”

Almost €3m was spent on the bail supervision scheme, under which children appearing before the Children's Court in Cork, Dublin, and Limerick can be granted bail subject to intensive supervision rather than being detained.

Funding was also allocated towards the construction of a veterans' care home in Cork city centre, aimed at providing early intervention for homeless veterans.

Nationally, €5m went to charity Rethink Ireland that provides financial support to social innovations.

The senior alert scheme received €2m. It gives eligible individuals 65 years or older a personal alarm allowing them to live securely in their own homes.

About 130 students from Traveller backgrounds or experiences of the care system were provided with €650,000 to aid the costs of accommodation.

A total sum of €3m was given towards helping individuals experiencing long-term homelessness transition to supported tenancies.

The fund's spending fell in 2025, dropping €1.5m from the previous year and down €50m compared to 2020 levels. 

The fund intends to cap spending at €40m by 2029, in order to ensure its "long-term sustainability"

The report recommended a shift in spending away from the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht and an increase in spend on disability supports.

It also saw the highest amount of funds "reclaimed" by owners of the dormant accounts since 2020, with €35m going back into the pockets of dormant account owners.