Vol. 522 No. 2
53 Mr. Sheehan asked the Minister for Finance the number of centenarians living here in 2000; and if he will give consideration to the inclusion, in the millennium centenarians bounty of £2,000 each, of that section of people who had attained the 100 years and over, on 1 January, 2000. [15939/00]
It is estimated that the number of centenarians, including those reaching 100 years of age in 2000, will be 295.
I do not propose to extend the special millennium centenarians bounty to surviving centenarians who had already reached 100 years of age before 1 January 2000.
The President has already announced that, as a special gesture to mark the birthdays of those who reach over 100 years of age from 1 January 2000, each surviving centenarian on his or her 101st birthday and subsequent birthdays, will receive a special commemorative coin in a presentation box together with a congratulatory card from the president. A new coin will be designed for each year. The coin for those with birthdays over 100 celebrated in the year 2000 is based on the fact that the recipients have lived in three centuries. The coin, in a contemporary design, carries the inscription "A witness to 3 Centuries".
