Vol. 510 No. 4
79 Mr. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she has satisfied herself with the general preparedness of industry in respect of the next stage of the euro changeover; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22945/99]
Indications of the state of euro-readiness of Irish firms have been ascertained from a series of four surveys, beginning with a benchmark study in July 1997, followed by surveys in March 1998, December 1998 and July 1999 that have been conducted as part of the EMU Business Awareness Campaign, which is managed on behalf of the Government by Forfás.
The results across each of the four surveys indicate that firms have been making good progress with regard to basic preparations since the first survey was conducted in July 1997; 55 per cent of all firms have now worked out the strategic implications of EMU up from 43 per cent in the December 1998 survey and 18 per cent in the benchmark survey in July 1997; 69 per cent of firms have worked out the practical implications for the changeover, an increase from 60 per cent in the December 1998 survey and 8 per cent in the benchmark survey in July 1997.
In line with previous studies, the fourth survey shows that larger companies continue to be more advanced in their overall levels of basic preparation than small and medium sized firms. The findings also clearly show that SME firms have been making steady progress with their preparations since the benchmark survey was conducted, albeit at a slower rate than larger companies.
The levels of business preparedness for the initiation of the euro currency on 1 January 2002 are generally satisfactory having regard to the fact that the introduction of euro notes and coins is still more than two years on.
