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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 5 Nov 2002

Vol. 556 No. 3

Written Answers. - Prize Bonds.

Paul McGrath

Ceist:

293 Mr. P. McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the total amount of money in the prize bond fund; the amount added to the fund in each of the past two years; the amount withdrawn by investors from the fund in each of the past two years; the prizes schedule; the number of unclaimed prizes; the amount of unclaimed prize money; the method of publication of prize winning numbers; the identity of the body which administers this fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20220/02]

At the end of September 2002, the total amount of money in the prize bond fund, that is, the total amount invested in the scheme, was €360 million. The net additional amounts invested in prize bonds in 2001 and 2000 were €35 million and €28 million respectively. The net additional amount invested in the period to end-September 2002 was €28 million. Encashments of prize bonds in 2001 and 2000 were €38 million and €41 million respectively. Encashments in the period to end-September 2002 totalled €32 million.

With regard to the prizes schedule, there are weekly draws for prizes, held every Friday. A jackpot prize of €150,000 is awarded on the first Friday of each month and a top prize of €20,000 is awarded on each of the following Fridays of the month. The other prizes awarded in every draw are currently as follows – October 2002: five prizes of €1,000; ten prizes of €250; and 1,698 prizes of €75.

As the prize bond fund grows, additional prizes are added to the €75 category. The total value of the prizes awarded in the prize bond draws is equal to the interest payable on the amounts invested in the scheme, and the current interest rate is 2.75% per annum.

The number of unclaimed prizes at end-September 2002 was 5,114. This includes prizes going back to the late 1950s when the prize bond scheme commenced. To put the number of unclaimed prizes in perspective, the total number of prizes currently being paid out annually by the Prize Bond Company is just under 90,000, valued at about €8.5 million. The amount of unclaimed prize money at end-September 2002 was €1.06 million.

The top winning numbers in every draw are available at post offices nationwide and the full draw results are displayed on the prize bonds website www.prizebonds.ie, and on page 699 of TV3's text service. A list of all unclaimed prizes is now also available on the prize bonds website, as are the results of the draws held in the previous seven months.

The weekly draws are open to the public and all prizewinners are contacted by post to inform them of their win. For prizes in excess of €250, where the prize is then not claimed, reminders are sent out after three months and again after six months. When correspondence about a prize is returned marked "not known at this address", the local post office is contacted to establish if the prizewinner has a forwarding address. Prizes unclaimed after the elapse of six months are placed in a special account in the Post Office Savings Bank, POSB, and earn interest at the standard POSB rates. When an unclaimed prize is eventually paid out, the interest accruing on it is added to the prize.
The prize bond scheme is administered by the Prize Bond Company Limited as agent for the National Treasury Management Agency. The Prize Bond Company is a joint venture owned equally by An Post and FEXCO, Killorglin, County Kerry. All money invested in the scheme is passed to the NTMA. It is paid into the central fund, and forms part of the national debt.
The prize bond scheme has enjoyed enormous success in recent years, with growth in the fund from €197 million at end-1997 to €360 million at end-September 2002 – an increase of over 80% in less than five years. A factor in this success has been the low interest rate environment generally which has enhanced the appeal of alternative savings products such as prize bonds.
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