Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The embassies and consular service must follow up on the proof of birth in Ireland. It is not just a matter of making an application, the candidates must prove they were born here. We are probably lucky in this country to have some of the best records available, including parish records of all the denominations that were active around the country then. The candidates must verify age, place of birth, citizenship and identity to the consular services and officers abroad, otherwise they will not be paid.

I checked the figure for 2005 before approaching the Department of Finance. Working on 1904 figures and at 141 bounties under the existing arrangements, the gross cost was €352,000. Based on actuarial figures there should be about 480 other centenarians living outside the State. Considering the number living in the State, this figure seems high, but even if it is correct the cost would be €1.2 million. The actuarial figures are based on an internationally recognised formula which is used by the Central Statistics Office. It is interesting that based on 1904 there should be 625 persons but there is only 141. This is an interesting statistic which shows what was happening to our earlier generations.

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