Banks and building societies are to be denied their traditional "perk" of using unclaimed deposits to enrich themselves.
The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, is to legislate to ensure that money in long-term, dormant bank and building society accounts passes to the next-of-kin of deceased persons.
Where relatives of deceased account-holders cannot be traced, as with illegal accounts and those held in false names, the State may seize the assets, rather than allow the financial institutions to have indefinite use of the money.
The value of the deposits is in dispute. Individual banks and building societies decline to estimate their holdings, but the Irish Banks Information Service has provided an "indicative estimate" for all institutions which suggests that, in any 25-year period, about £2 million is involved.
This is "very much on the low side", according to Government officials.
Recent estimates in Britain put a cash value of about £45 billion on the amount held by financial institutions in long-term, dormant accounts there.
Last year Irish financial institutions responded to inquiries about such accounts by the Department of Finance. But a report based on that investigation has not been published. Mr McCreevy is clearly unhappy with its conclusions.
Officials say the Minister is determined to take action on dormant deposit accounts. Legislation will probably be required to force financial institutions to disclose the full extent of the deposits.
But because such accounts are sometimes opened for children and remain inactive for up to 18 or 21 years, the legislation which would order the disclosure of deposits to the next-of-kin, or their forfeiture to the Government, would have to take account of such matters.