PART IV: OTHER ACTIVITIES  

42. Introduction   Apart from its mainstream public information activities, the Board also engaged in a number of other public information activities in the year under review. These are described in the following paragraphs.

43. The Loughrea Euro Town Project   The Loughrea Euro Town Project is a demonstration type project whereby businesses throughout Ireland can learn from the experiences of a number of selected businesses in Loughrea, Co. Galway, as these change over to euro-based trading on an accelerated basis. 31 businesses are involved in the project, ranging in size from a small owner-managed retail outlet to a medium-sized drapery store with 45 employees and a large manufacturing distribution company with 200 employees. The businesses operate in a number of sectors including retail, distribution, manufacturing, professional services, tourism and agriculture. The project is managed by a management committee with representation from Loughrea Chamber of Commerce, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and the Forfás EMU Business Awareness Campaign. An official from the ECBI Secretariat is also on the management committee.

Towards the end of 1999, each of the businesses prepared detailed changeover plans based on the Forfás EMU Business Awareness Campaign planning framework. The plans are individual to each of the businesses and envisage their changing their base currency to euro at the start of their financial year in the year 2000. The first of the businesses to change over did so in February 2000; another did so in March and three in April. All of the businesses are to have completed their changeover by the end of 2000. The lessons to be learned from the Loughrea changeover experience will be incorporated into the Forfás Business Awareness Campaign for the benefit of businesses making the changeover during 2001.

The clear message emerging from the project is that businesses need to start their planning well in advance of 2002. The main issue arising for a number of the participants is accounting software. Some of the participants have found that the standard off-the-shelf accounting packages they are using have limited euro conversion facilities and therefore achieving the changeover as part of the project will be possible only with additional investment. The ongoing experience of the Loughrea participants can be followed on the project website at www.eurotown-loughrea.ie

44. Cross-Border Cooperation on the Euro   As mentioned in the Board's first annual report, the Secretariat was involved in the production of a leaflet entitled Wake up to the Euro and your Cross-Border Trade, in cooperation with the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment and the Forfás EMU Business Awareness Campaign. The leaflet was produced jointly with the relevant Departments and State Agencies in Northern Ireland and in consultation with an informal group of business and trade union representatives. It was launched on 6 May 1999 and has been widely distributed to businesses on both sides of the border.

45. Stands at Exhibitions   As a further means of bringing information to the public, the Board took stands at seven exhibitions during the year, as follows: National Livestock Show, Tullamore; Agriculture Show, Virginia; National Ploughing Championship, Cork; Holiday World Exhibition and Third Age Expo. Dublin; INTO Annual Conference, Waterford.

46. Talks and Presentations   An important feature of the Board's activities was giving talks and making presentations to local and community groups etc about the changeover to the euro. Secretariat staff gave some 26 talks on the changeover, including sessions at a number of public conferences and talks to ladies' clubs and senior citizens' groups. The Secretariat also provided ECBI material, including the public information video, in response to requests from groups arranging their own talks and presentations.

47. Press Launches and Interviews with the Media   Finally, the Board held a number of press launches during the year. These marked the publication of the Board's first annual report and the results of its public awareness survey, in June 1999; the launch of the Board's new website for schools, in October 1999; and the launch of the Cash Changeover Plan, in April 2000. These provided occasions for interviews by the Chairperson and Secretariat staff, on television and radio (both national and local) and in the newspapers. In addition, the Chairperson gave a number of interviews to Europe Week, which provides information on a syndicated basis to some 30 independent and community radio stations around Ireland.

Part III: Public Information Activities

Appendix 1: Membership of the Board