The second of the Board's tasks is to provide public and consumer information. The Board does this as part of the overall National Information Programme, which it co-ordinates. The National Information Programme is in three parts:

• the Public Information Programme, run by the Board;
• the EMU Business Awareness Campaign run by Forfás, the State's industrial policy and advisory board; and
• the Non-Governmental Organisations Programme.

20. First phase of the Public Information Programme

The ECBI was established on 5 May 1998 and an immediate priority was to provide widescale information to the public on the new currency. Accordingly, as soon as possible after the referendums on 22 May 1998 on the Amsterdam Treaty and Articles 2, 3 and 29 of the Constitution, the Board began the first phase of its public information campaign. The first phase was launched on 3 June 1998 by the Minister for Finance. It consisted of:

• an advertising campaign, involving television and national and local radio and newspapers;
• an information leaflet setting out the changeover timetable and what would happen in the transitional period, and showing what euro notes and coins will look like. This was sent to every household in the country (some 1.3 million leaflets in all); and
• a poster again setting out the changeover timetable and showing what euro notes and coins will look like: this was issued to schools, libraries and public offices. Some 100,000 copies of this poster have been issued.

The Board then commissioned a national survey to assess the level of public awareness of the euro. The fieldwork for the survey was carried out in late July and the results were announced on 28 September 1998. Briefly, the main results were that 94% of people were aware of the single currency and 85% knew Ireland would participate from the beginning, while 59% knew the name of the currency and the same percentage knew that the euro would be useable for non-cash transactions from 1 January 1999. However, there was less awareness of the date for the introduction of euro notes and coins and few people felt well informed about the euro. The survey results were used to help inform the next phases of the Board's information programme.

22. Second phase of the Public Information Programme

With the resumption of activities following the summer break, the Minister for Finance launched the second phase of the Board's information programme on 28 September 1998. The second phase ran from September to December 1998 and had a more varied mix of elements. These included:

• setting up a web site (www.irlgov.ie/ecbi-euro);
• establishment of a teletext page (RTE 1, Aertel, page 678);
• co-sponsorship of the television series Living with the euro ;
• a public information video, which was launched in November 1998. The video set out the timetable for the changeover and showed what the euro notes and coins will look like; it also gave examples of how people would be coming across the euro in their daily lives in the period up to 1 January 2002;
• the third edition of the National Changeover Plan, already described, which was launched in November;
• a national press advertising campaign, run in November; and
• production of over 1 million more copies of the household information leaflet, which were made available to the public through Post Office and retail outlets.

23. Publicity surrounding the launch of the Euro

The events surrounding the launch of the euro, and the role played by the Board in relation to it, have already been described. The launch of the euro attracted an enormous amount of media publicity and the Board considered that the next phase of its information programme should begin as this began to die down.

24. Board's Advertising Campaign in January 1999

The Board had already, on 9 October 1998, advertised in the Official Journal of the European Communities for tenders for an advertising campaign on the euro to begin in mid-January 1999, and by Christmas 1998 had selected the successful bidder. Accordingly, on 12 January 1999 the Minister for Finance launched a substantial advertising campaign on the euro on behalf of the Board. The Campaign used television, national and local radio, national and local print media and countrywide outdoor advertising sites (public transport locations and billboards). The campaign, using the slogan "think euro", highlighted the euro/Irish pound conversion rate and the 1 January 2002 date for the introduction of euro notes and coins. An independent survey of 48-sheet (i.e. billboard) poster advertising in Dublin during January found that the Board's "think euro" poster was the most recalled 48-sheet campaign for the month of January - a significant achievement given the intense activity in this area at the start of the year.

25. Other elements of the third phase of the Information Programme

The January advertising campaign was only one element in the third phase of the Board's information campaign. Other elements included the following:

• An information leaflet, showing the euro/Irish pound conversion rate and illustrations of the euro notes and coins and setting out the conversion and rounding rules and some sample conversions, was delivered to every household during February 1999 (some 1.3 million leaflets in all);
• Over half a million more copies of this leaflet were then made available through post offices, public libraries, public offices and the European Union's Public Information Centre (EPIC) and the European Union's relays in Ireland as well as through retail outlets;
• A booklet entitled "The euro ..... your questions answered", based on frequent enquiries on the Board's locall helpline, was produced and distributed to schools, public libraries, public offices and EPIC etc and was also distributed at the regional centres visited by the ECBI roadshow ;
• Conversion chart posters, and posters showing the euro/Irish pound conversion rate, were prepared and distributed widely to the retail sector, post offices, schools, public libraries, public offices and EPIC etc;
• Paper converters of credit card size, showing 18 sample values converted from Irish pounds to euro on one side and 18 values converted from euro to IR£ on the other, were produced and distributed in large quantities to schools, libraries and EPIC etc;
• The Board's public information video, launched in November 1998, was updated to cover the euro/Irish pound conversion rate and show how to convert from IR£ to euro. It was circulated to all post-primary schools, to public libraries and EPIC etc as well as being made available to organisations undertaking activities to promote awareness of the euro. In addition, the Board has arranged for this video to be included in a Public Information Video which is to be shown from late May 1999 in the waiting areas of the major Dublin hospitals.

As a further element in this phase of the Board's programme, during Spring 1999 the Secretariat, in conjunction with the EPIC visited thirteen regional centres around the country. This roadshow was launched by the Minister for Finance and was promoted through regional newspapers and local radio advertising; in addition, many community and voluntary organisations were invited to send members to a presentation in their area. The roadshow involved presentations in schools, local radio interviews, meetings with local newspaper representatives and presentations to groups, as well as information dissemination at public venues. The EPIC roadshow truck accompanied the ECBI on the roadshow. The towns visited were Letterkenny, Sligo, Waterford, Cork, Tralee, Limerick, Castlebar, Athlone, Dundalk, Monaghan, Mullingar, Newbridge and Wexford.

27. Survey

In March 1999 the Board commissioned a survey to establish levels of public awareness following the launch of the euro and the Board's 1999 activities to date, with a view to identifying any issues or parts of the population which need further attention and the most effective ways of carrying forward the information programme. The fieldwork for the survey began in late March .

28. Ábhair i nGaeilge

Tugann an Bord ardtosaíocht do sholáthar eolais faoin euro i nGaeilge agus eisíodh an chuid is mó den ábhar clóite i nGaeilge freisin. Sa tslí chéanna, maidir le hábhair a úsáideadh i bhfeachtais fógraíochta an Bhoird ullmhaíodh i nGaeilge freisin iad lena n-úsáid sa nuachtán Gaeilge Foinse agus ar Theilifís na Gaeilge. Ina theannta sin, tá leagan Gaeilge le fáil den fhíseán eolais don phobal. Lena chinntiú go scaiptear ábhair Ghaeilge go forleathan, sheachaid An Post leagan Gaeilge de na bileoga eolais do theaghlaigh ar gach teaghlach i gceantair Ghaeltachta agus, le go scaipfí ar bhonn níos forleithne é, chuir an Rúnaireacht ábhair eile faoin euro i nGaeilge, lena n-áirítear an físeán, chuig comhlachtaí a bhfuil baint acu leis an nGaeilge.

29. Links with Forfás

The Forfás EMU Business Awareness Campaign is the second part of the National Information Programme on the euro. The Campaign was launched by the Government in December 1996 and its purpose is to provide information to help businesses prepare themselves for EMU and the changeover to the euro. In pursuit of this objective, the Campaign has produced a wide range of user-friendly material, including: a comprehensive information pack now comprising 21 documents that outline in detail the practical steps a business should consider when preparing for the euro; a summary document specifically for SMEs; a document on information technology, which highlights the key issues that businesses need to address when preparing computer systems for the euro; a guide for retailers; a guide for businesses trading across the border with Northern Ireland; and a guide for trade union representatives, produced in association with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. In total, the Campaign distributed almost 450,000 publications in 1998. All of the Campaign's information is available on its website at www.emuaware.forfas.ie The Campaign has also carried out press and radio advertising campaigns, made presentations at meetings of various business, trade and professional organisations and undertaken a number of surveys on the preparedness of Irish enterprises for the euro.

The Board is represented on the Management Committee which directs the Business Awareness Campaign, while Forfás is represented on the Board. These links help to avoid duplication and to promote synergies. The Board has been careful to mention the Forfás EMU Business Awareness Campaign in its information materials where appropriate. For example, details of the Forfás campaign have been included on the Board's website and Aertel page, and in the two information leaflets circulated to every household, the Questions and Answers booklet and the information video. The Board is also involved with Forfás in the Loughrea Euro Town Project and in cross-border cooperation on the euro: these activities are described in Part IV of this Report.

30. Non-Governmental Organisations Programme

The Programme for Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) is the third part of the National Information Programme. Under the NGO Programme, funding of up to 50% is available to NGOs to meet the costs of activities undertaken to promote awareness of the euro. For the purposes of this Programme, NGOs are defined as non-profit making organisations and include registered charities, voluntary, community and vocational organisations, trade unions and business and trade organisations. State bodies and organisations are not included. Organisations representing small businesses; organisations representing elderly and visually impaired people; and organisations involved in education are considered as being among the priority categories for assistance under the NGO Programme. The European Commission's information correspondent in Dublin assists NGOs to pursue their activities and has also arranged for a number of expert speakers (members of its Groupeuro) to address NGO groups.

31. 1998 NGO Programme

The 1998 programme was administered by the ECBI on behalf of the European Union and covered activities undertaken in the period to 31 December 1998. The funding allocation for the 1998 programme, £200,000, was provided by the EU. The Secretariat placed an advertisement seeking applications for funds in the national daily newspapers on 10 June 1998. 40 applications for funding were received. Following consideration by the Joint Information Programme Group, the available funds were allocated among 26 successful applicants. 19 of these completed their projects and submitted a final report on their activities to the ECBI secretariat by 31 March 1999, as required by the contract entered into by each of the successful applicants. Payments under the 1998 NGO Programme amounted to a total of £131,055.99. Appendix 4 lists the organisations which received funding under the 1998 Programme. Activities carried out by these organisations included talks, workshops, information evenings, radio discussions and participation in conferences, and production of various information materials and material for websites. The target audiences included the general public, women, elderly people, people with a disability, students, trade union members, consumers, businesses, SMEs, start-up businesses and retailers.

32. 1999 NGO Programme