Noel Davern
Question:61 Mr. Davern asked the Minister for Finance the plans, if any, he has to hold information seminars nationwide on economic and monetary union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2435/97]
Vol. 474 No. 1
61 Mr. Davern asked the Minister for Finance the plans, if any, he has to hold information seminars nationwide on economic and monetary union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2435/97]
In December last I launched a national information programme on economic and monetary union and the changeover to the euro with the Ministers for Enterprise and Employment and Tourism and Trade. The programme will be in phases, designed to correspond with the phases of the changeover and to provide information in a timely way: as the Deputy will be aware, economic and monetary union will begin on 1 January 1999, when the single currency, the euro, will come into being, but euro notes and coins will not be introduced until 1 January 2002 at the latest, with the changeover to the euro being completed within six months of their introduction.