Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 17 Dec 1998

Vol. 498 No. 6

Written Answers - Euro Changeover.

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

117 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance if he has satisfied himself that the degree of information, advertising and general promotion in respect of the euro changeover in Ireland is comparable to the information available in the United Kingdom, a non-EMU state; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28272/98]

Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy)

I am aware that the United Kingdom ran a media campaign about the euro directed at business earlier this year. I understand that there is no campaign of information about the euro for the general public in the UK. Needless to say, decisions on what the UK does in relation to the euro are a matter for that country.

In relation to this country, I am very satisfied that the Euro Changeover Board of Ireland's (ECBI) public information campaign and the Forfás EMU Business Awareness Campaign have made a very substantial amount of information widely available, as the following shows.

Around 2.5 million public information leaflets have been made available by the ECBI, including one to every household last June, and some 88,000 posters have been distributed to schools, libraries and post offices. The ECBI has also set up a web site, www. irlgov. ie/ecbi-euro, a LoCall number, 1890 20 10 50, and a teletext page, Aertel, RTE 1, page 678, produced a public information video and co-sponsored a six-part TV series which ran on RTE 1 in October-November entitled Living with the euro. In conjunction with the National Council for the Blind (NCBI), the ECBI has produced 250 audiotapes of its information leaflet for visually impaired people. Other initiatives are currently under way with the NCBI. In addition, the ECBI has produced a signed and subtitled version of the public information video for people with a hearing disability.

In addition, the ECBI has run major advertising campaigns, in June and November, conducted an extensive training programme in the civil and public service and a set of information briefings for nationally-representative organisations, published the results of a nationally representative survey, produced an information leaflet for teachers in conjunction with the Department of Education and Science and compiled the third edition of EMU and the euro Ireland's National Changeover Plan, which I published in November. A set of frequently asked questions and answers is now also on the ECBI web site.

The ECBI is also responsible for the administration of the EU-funded non-governmental organisation, NGO programme for euro information activities. Under this programme, a total of 26 NGO bodies have been approved for EU funding amounting to a total of £200,000 in respect of information activities on the euro in 1998. These bodies include organisations representing consumers, community, elderly people and women's groups, trade unions and trade and professional associations.

The ECBI has also set up a consultative panel to advise it on how to cater for those with special needs and to help it to disseminate information to them.

A further extensive communications campaign is planned by the ECBI following the start of EMU on 1 January next.

The Forfás EMU business awareness campaign, which has been running for two years now, has produced and disseminated,inter alia, a very extensive information pack, 45,000 copies, which includes a set of possible actions for companies in relation to sterling. The campaign has also distributed a guide for small and medium enterprises, 98,500 copies, a guide for the retail sector, 82,000 copies, a guide for trade unions, 35,000 copies, and an information technology guide, 37,000 copies. In addition, the ninth issue of the business campaign newsletter Eurochange has just issued, circulation 26,000. New documents are being prepared for inclusion in the business campaign pack.

Campaign material, outlining how firms should deal with EMU issues, has been distributed to over 140,000 businesses as part of a mailing by the Revenue Commissioners with company VAT returns. In addition, material has been included in a new guide on the issue that has been produced by Revenue and is available to all businesses. Contact details for the campaign have also been included in a special Revenue newsletter for businesses, of which 350,000 copies have recently been distributed.

Press and radio advertising campaigns have been run by the campaign, using national media, business journals and specialist publications, as well as national and local radio. Currently a press campaign is under way which runs until the middle of December. A special LoCall number is advertised which allows callers to ring a dedicated Forfás "euro-line" for information. More detailed information is provided on the campaign's help line. Special supplements on EMU have been organised in association with national publications and articles supplied on the topic for inclusion in EMU features of other publications.

The campaign has undertaken a number of surveys to monitor on an on-going basis the levels of preparations among Irish enterprises. Fieldwork for the third of these surveys is under way and will be completed by year-end. The findings of this survey will provide direction for the campaign in 1999.

In addition to these two sources of information on the euro a wide range of public and private sector bodies is involved in promoting knowledge of the changeover. Details can be found in Appendix 1 to the third edition of the national changeover plan.