PART III: Public Information Activities

17. Structure of the National Information Programme   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 coordinates. 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, administered by the Board.

The National Information Programme is part-funded by the European Union and is run in consultation with the Joint Information Programme Group, which meets monthly and consists of representatives from the Secretariat, Forfás, the European Commission Representation in Ireland and the European Parliament Office in Ireland.

18. Background to Public Information Activities   The Board's first report described its information activities in the year to end-April 1999. These had been particularly intensive in the summer after the Board's establishment and, of course, in the months following the launch of the euro on 1 January 1999. But with the events of the launch receding and the introduction of euro notes and coins still a considerable time away, it was clear that the Board's second year would not give rise to occasions for such widespread provision of information. It was appropriate to begin by taking stock, to ascertain what levels of public awareness had been achieved and what more needed to be done, and also to see whether particular groups were at greater risk of low awareness of the euro.

19. Public Awareness Survey   Accordingly, the Board commissioned a public awareness survey, the results of which the Board published, along with its first annual report, on 30 June 1999. The survey's main findings were as follows (corresponding results from the Board's 1998 survey shown in brackets):

88 % of the population knew the name of the euro (59% in 1998)
75% had seen, read or heard something about the euro
53% knew the right value zone for the euro, at 78-80p
48% knew that notes and coins will be introduced in 2002 (21% in 1998), and
46 % had seen the designs for the notes and coins (30% in 1998).

However, the survey also showed that certain sections of the community had below average awareness of the euro. Those likely to have lower awareness included older people and people not in the workplace.

20. Approach Suggested by Survey Results   The survey results suggested that a two-pronged approach to the provision of public information would be desirable. For the general public, the issue would be to try to maintain awareness and build on it, especially by helping people to build a scale of values for themselves in euro. For groups at risk of low awareness, the issue would be to try to ensure that information reached them and was in appropriate form: to this end, it would clearly be important to build up relations with organisations representing the specific target groups, both to obtain their advice on the content, timing and format of information and to obtain their cooperation in using their networks to convey information to the people in need of it. The activities carried out in pursuit of this approach are now described. Some of course served both objectives.

21. Dual Display   The most pervasive source of euro values for the general public is in the form of dual display of prices - that is, prices shown in euro as well as in Irish pounds. With the fixing of the conversion rate for the Irish pound against the euro on 31 December 1998, dual display became widespread, and has continued to grow in the period under review. It is in use, for example, on tax-free allowance certificates issued annually to all employees by the Revenue Commissioners; on account statements from financial institutions; on lotto tickets; on newspapers; on electricity, gas and telephone bills; on bus tickets; on till receipts from supermarkets and many other retail outlets; and on payslips from a growing number of employers in the public and private sectors. While obviously dual display is not produced directly by the Board, much of it is in line with commitments given in the third edition of the National Changeover Plan, published in November 1998, in which the Board was involved. Widespread dual display means that people are constantly coming across euro values in the course of their daily lives.

22. Outdoor Poster Campaigns   In order to help strengthen people's sense of euro values, the Board conducted two outdoor poster campaigns, one in the second half of June 1999 and the other at the end of August and the beginning of September. Each consisted of two large posters on some fifty sites around the country. In the first campaign, one poster featured two piggy banks, one showing an Irish pound value and the other its equivalent in euro, while the other poster showed a litre of milk with its price in cent and in pence. In the second campaign, one poster featured twin children and the new rate of child benefit for twins to apply from September 1999; the second featured two pensioners and the rate for a married couple's contributory pension. In both cases the rates were shown in euro as well as in Irish pounds. The point of the campaign was to help reinforce in people's minds the equivalence between euro values and Irish pound values for items representing income, savings and expenditure. Small-scale versions of the posters were also produced and made available.

23. Information at Post Offices and Social Welfare Offices   In an effort to expand the availability of information on the euro not only for the general public but also for the specific target groups identified by the survey, the Board had a poster designed in consultation with An Post and the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs. The poster gives basic information on the euro and its value and indicates that an information leaflet is available from offices where the poster is displayed, as well as giving the Board's LoCall telephone number. Copies of the poster and supplies of the information leaflet circulated by the Board to all households in early 1999 were then distributed to An Post and the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs in Autumn 1999 for display at all post offices and social welfare offices.

24. Citizens Information Centres etc.   In a further attempt to widen the availability of information, the Board also distributed information packs to every Citizens Information Centre and Money Advice and Budgeting Services Centre in the country.

25. Centres for Older People   The Board's public awareness survey identified older people as being at risk of low awareness. Accordingly, in Autumn 1999, the Board distributed an information pack to over 900 centres for older people around the country. The information pack included posters, information leaflets and the Board's public information video.

26. Bingo Books   Again in an effort to provide information for older people, the Board placed an advertisement on the backs of some 1,000,000 books being used at bingo centres around the country during the winter of 1999/2000. The advertisement conveyed basic information about the euro and included the Board's LoCall telephone number for further information.

27. Literacy Materials   In order to provide information for specific target groups, and in order to build up its networks among organisations representing such groups, in September 1999 the Board held a meeting of bodies concerned with literacy issues. The organisations represented at the meeting included the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) and the Department of Education and Science. Three initiatives arose from this meeting:

• the Board sent an information pack to some 300 national and local organisations concerned with literacy, indicating the desirability of providing information on the euro to people with literacy difficulties and enclosing an order form for the organisations to order further copies of the Board's materials.
  
  
• in conjunction with NALA, the Board produced a new information leaflet aimed at people with literacy difficulties, which the Board and NALA have distributed widely.
  
  
• in conjunction with the City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee (CDVEC), the Board produced a worksheet on the euro: this worksheet is based on the CDVEC's Working with Words resource pack and is intended for use by literacy tutors working with individuals and groups. Again, this worksheet has been widely distributed.

28. Advertising   As already noted, the Board's second year did not afford occasions for widescale public advertising. Apart from the outdoor billboard campaign already mentioned, therefore, the Board engaged only in ad hoc advertising. Such advertisements included a supplement in a Sunday newspaper and advertisements in teachers' magazines in connection with the launch of the new schools section of the Board's website (see below).

29. The Education Sector    From its establishment, the Board has given a high priority to ensuring that information about the euro is made widely available to teachers and students. This is important both as an end in itself and also because students will bring home to their families the information they receive in school. In this area, the Board works closely with the Department of Education and Science, with which the Secretariat has set up an Education Liaison Group. The Board's activities in the education sector in the period of this report included:

• The development of a new interactive website for schools, at www.euro.ie/school.htm This site, which was designed by teachers and is linked to the Board's main website, was launched by the Minister for Finance in October 1999. The site features graphics, games and quizzes designed to attract students to engage with the new currency and has separate sections for primary and post-primary students. It also contains a euro shop, where visitors to the website can practise shopping with the euro. Use of the site was promoted through advertisements in all teachers' magazines.
  
  
• Following the launch of the site, the Board circulated an information pack to all the primary and post-primary schools in the country (the third occasion on which it has circulated information materials to all such schools), giving information on the site and providing posters about it for display on staff and school noticeboards.
  
  
• Detailed subject guides on the euro have been prepared by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) for both primary and post-primary teachers. These will be distributed to schools for the start of the 2000/2001 school year. The guides will include basic information on the euro and suggestions as to how the euro can be introduced as a topic, as well as specific ideas for classes.
  
  
• In addition, the NCCA is developing a special curriculum to address the needs of students with disabilities. This will supplement mainstream teaching where additional or specialised materials or approaches are required. This curriculum will include material on the euro.

30. The Board's Website www.euro.ie (formerly www.irlgov.ie/ecbi-euro)
The Board's website, launched in September 1998, includes information on the role of the Board; illustrations of the designs for euro notes and coins, including the designs for all the national faces of the coins; a 'euro calculator' for conversions between Irish pound amounts and euro amounts and vice versa; and a full list of the euro conversion rates for the participating currencies. It also includes information materials produced by the Board and by the Department of Finance; all press releases relating to ECBI activities and events; and an extensive list of addresses of other useful web sites. In the legislation area, the site includes the EU legal framework for the euro, and the Economic and Monetary Union Act, 1998. The site also contains a schools section, including notes on the use of the site for the guidance of primary school teachers and the leaflet 'Introducing the EURO: Information for Teachers'. As already described above, in October 1999 the Board launched a new interactive website for schools, linked to the main site. Nearly 16,000 "hits" were recorded on the website during the period of this Report. The site will continue to be developed further as the changeover proceeds.

31. Cash Changeover Plan   As already stated, the Board's Plan for the changeover to euro cash from 1 January 2002 was published in April 2000. Distribution of the Plan had therefore only begun by the end of the period covered by this report, ie. by end-April 2000. Nevertheless, the Board views this Plan, and ensuring its widespread distribution, as an extremely important step in increasing public awareness about the euro and accordingly will be distributing a summary of it in leaflet form to every household in the country. Similarly, its widespread distribution to business via business organisations and the Forfás EMU Business Awareness Campaign should act as a considerable stimulus to business, and especially retail, preparations for the changeover.

32. Expansion of Consultative Panel   In 1998 the Board established a Consultative Panel of organisations representing people likely to have special needs for the changeover, in order to help identify their needs, advise on how these needs should be met and help in meeting them. As part of its effort to provide information to specific target groups, the Board invited a number of further organisations to join the Panel during the year, including the Irish Senior Citizens' Parliament, The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, The National Training and Development Institute, The National Council for Ageing and Older People, Age & Opportunity, The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed, St. Vincent's Centre for the Deaf, Muintir na Tire and the Irish Countrywomen's Association. The networks thus made available will be used to distribute information to the groups' clients as well as to their members.

33. Ongoing Information Services   The Board also continued the ongoing information services it had established in its first year of operation. These include:

• LoCall Helpline The Board has a telephone helpline for the public at LoCall 1890 20 10 50 (ie. calls are charged at local rates, regardless of the caller's location in Ireland).
  
  
• "Aertel" Page The Board also has a page (page 678) in the Public Information Network on the "Aertel" service on RTE television. It provides details on the euro/Irish pound conversion rate, the conversion and rounding rules and the changeover timetable as well as details on how to contact the Board and, for business enquiries, the Forfás EMU Business Awareness Campaign.

34. Updates of Information Materials   During the year, the Board updated its booklet "The Euro ... Your Questions Answered", which is based on questions frequently asked by callers to the Board's helpline. The Secretariat was also involved in updating the Ministerial booklet "EMU and the Euro" which is among the information materials distributed by the Board. The Board also launched a new poster showing pictures of what euro notes and coins will look like. Further information materials are in preparation.

35. Ábhair as Gaeilge   Lean an Bord orthu le hábhair a sholáthar as Gaeilge agus d'fhoilsigh siad leagan cothrom le dáta den leabhrán "An euro...freagraí ar do cheisteanna" i bhFómhair na bliana 1999. Ina theannta sin, foilseoidh an Bord leagan Gaeilge den bhileog achoimre faoi'n bplean um athrú go hairgead euro, lena scaipeadh ar thithe i gceanntair Ghaeltachta.

36. Other Public Information Activities   The Board also carried out a number of other public information activities. These included:

• providing a range of euro information materials for inclusion in the pack given to participants in the Women's Mini-Marathon in June 1999.
  
  
• providing a briefing on the euro for a number of trade union representatives from around the country, and providing information materials for a number of conferences, an employee awareness week etc.
  
  
• producing novelties (eg. biros, rulers, bookmarks, car stickers) carrying euro messages, for use at stands and exhibitions.
  
  
• part-funding the consumer guide "The Euro and You" produced by the European Consumer Centre and widely distributed.

37. International Contacts   The Secretariat maintained ongoing contact with the European Commission and with the public administrations in other EU member States about progress in their preparations for the changeover to the euro.

38. 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 1996 and its purpose is to provide information to help businesses prepare themselves for EMU and the changeover to the euro. During the year, the Campaign continued to produce and distribute material for business. It added eight new documents to its information pack, covering such issues as conversion and rounding, training, payroll and dual display. In addition, three issues of the Campaign newsletter were issued in 1999: the newsletter has a mailing list in the region of 30,000. In total, the Campaign distributed about 180,000 publications in 1999. All of the Campaign's information is available on its website at www.emuaware.forfas.ie The Campaign also carried out two press advertising campaigns and attended a number of trade exhibitions and conferences during the year, made 23 presentations at meetings of various business, trade and professional organisations and undertook two surveys to monitor the preparedness of Irish enterprises for the euro. The Campaign also dealt with over 2,000 enquiries on the euro and business.

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 actively promoted the Forfás EMU Business Awareness Campaign in its information materials where appropriate. The Board is also involved with Forfás in the Loughrea Euro Town Project.

39. Non-Governmental Organisations Programme   The Programme for Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) is the third part of the National Information Programme and is administered by the Board. Under the NGO Programme, part-funding 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, and organisations representing older people and visually impaired people, are considered as being among the priority categories for assistance under the NGO Programme. The European Commission's information correspondent in Ireland assists NGOs to pursue their activities and has also arranged for a number of expert speakers (members of its Groupeuro) to address NGO groups. The NGO Programme is an important part of the Board's efforts to reach groups of people at risk of low awareness of the euro.

40. 1999 NGO Programme   The 1999 NGO Programme covered activities undertaken in the period from 1 May 1999 to 31 October 1999. The funding allocation for the 1999 Programme was £275,000. The Secretariat placed an advertisement seeking applications for funds in the national daily newspapers on 25 February 1999. 23 applications for funding were received. Following consideration by the Joint Information Programme Group, contracts were awarded to 19 successful applicants. 14 of these carried out their projects and submitted a final report on their activities, together with a statement and accompanying invoices, to the ECBI secretariat by 30 November 1999, as required under the terms of the contract. Payments under the 1999 NGO Programme amounted to £93,040.88. Appendix 5 lists the organisations which received funding under the 1999 Programme. Activities carried out by these organisations included talks and seminars, information and training workshops, community radio discussions, local 'euro events' and production of various information materials. Target audiences included the general public, women's groups, older people, Travellers, adult literacy groups, community and local groups, disadvantaged areas, consumers and retailers.

41. 1999/2000 NGO Programme   The 1999/2000 programme covers activities in the period 1 November 1999 to 30 June 2000. The funding allocation for this programme was £275,000. The Secretariat placed an advertisement seeking applications for funds in the national daily newspapers on 1 September 1999 and particular efforts were made to encourage participation by the voluntary and community sectors. 57 applications for funding were received and, following consideration by the Joint Information Programme Group, contracts were awarded to 46 successful applicants. Activities in progress include the production of information and training materials, including special materials for people with learning disabilities, talks and conferences, workshops and training seminars, and community radio programmes. The target audiences include the general public, women's groups, older people, Travellers, students, disadvantaged areas, literacy groups, refugees, local businesses and community and local groups.

Part II: Overseeing the detailed implementation of the changeover

Part IV: Other Activities