Preparations in Ireland to Date

The Department of Finance is the Department with overall responsibility for coordinating Ireland's preparations for the changeover to the euro. It has responsibility for coordinating the preparations of the Irish public administration and has a key role in helping the rest of the economy to prepare itself for the changeover.

The Department has put in place a number of initiatives in connection with the changeover:

	The Single Currency Officers Team (SCOT) was set up in Autumn 1995. SCOT consists of a representative from every Government Department as well as from the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Central Statistics Office and the National Treasury Management Agency. The Central Bank of Ireland also participates in SCOT. SCOT's remit is to coordinate preparations for the introduction of the euro in the public sector. Every Government Department has prepared a detailed changeover plan in respect of its operations, has designated a senior officer to oversee the implementation of its plan and has applied similar arrangements as appropriate to all bodies under its aegis. Progress reports are submitted to the Government on how the changeover is progressing across the public sector.
	THE EURO CHANGEOVER BOARD OF IRELAND was established by the Minister for Finance on 5 May 1998 and has two basic tasks: to oversee the detailed implementation of the changeover to the euro and to provide public and consumer information. The Board includes representatives from ICTU and IBEC, from the community and voluntary pillar of Partnership 2000 and the National Women's Council and from consumer, business, financial and professional bodies, as well as from the European Commission Representation and European Parliament Office in Dublin, the Central Bank of Ireland, Forfás and relevant Government Departments. The Department of Finance provides the Chairperson and secretariat of the Board. Appendix 3 shows the membership and secretariat of the Board.
	The National Information Programme on EMU and the changeover to the euro was launched in December 1996 by the Ministers for Finance, Enterprise and Employment and Tourism and Trade. The Programme is designed in phases to provide information to the public on EMU and the changeover to the euro as the single currency project proceeds and is part-funded by the European Union. The first phase of the Programme ran to end-1997 and consisted mainly of the Forfás Business Awareness Campaign.
	The Forfás Business Awareness Campaign aims to provide businesses with the information they need to prepare themselves for EMU and the changeover to the euro. The Departments of Finance and of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Office of the Revenue Commissioners and the Central Bank of Ireland are represented on the Management Committee for the Campaign. A Consultative Committee advises on the direction of the Campaign: it includes representatives from businesses and trade associations, from professional bodies and from the State agencies that deal directly with businesses. Following the EU leaders' confirmation in May 1998 that Ireland qualifies to join EMU and adopt the euro from 1 January 1999, a substantial Public Information Programme was launched in June 1998. This included a major advertising campaign using press, radio and television as well as the distribution of an information leaflet to every household in the country - over 1.3 million leaflets in all. In addition, over 80,000 posters outlining the changeover timetable and showing what euro notes and coins will look like have been distributed to schools, libraries and public offices. The Euro Changeover Board of Ireland is also administering, on behalf of the EU, a programme under which non-governmental organisations receive part funding for activities to promote awareness of the euro. Further public information initiatives will be taken in the run-up to the launch of the euro on 1 January 1999 and beyond.