I welcome members of the UK committee, with whom I am very happy to exchange ideas. I am involved in the supermarket business as well as being a Senator. I am keen to relate to our British colleagues details of difficulties that were experienced during the changeover. I disagree with the Chairman, who may have hinted that some unscrupulous retailers may have used "decimalisation" and the introduction of the euro to increase prices and thereby cause inflation. We will debate that matter on another occasion.
A lovely Irish seanfhocal, or proverb, says "éist le fuaim na habhann mar gheobhaidh tú iasc" - listen to the sound of the river if you want to catch a fish. The Euro Changeover Board of Ireland listened carefully to the sounds, particularly of citizens and those involved in trade and business, to ensure that the changeover went smoothly. One of the reasons the board was so successful was that it listened to business people, to a greater extent than did the relevant people in other European countries. An example of an issue that may arise if the UK joins is that the punt was of a higher value than the euro - Ireland was the only one of the 12 countries to be in such a position. Prices went up here, meaning that something sold for £1 suddenly cost €1.27. It seemed to those buying houses or cars that prices had increased. We were aware of this matter in advance. Something being sold for 2,000 liras in Italy seemed to decrease in price to €1. The week after the changeover, a customer in a restaurant in Italy paid €650 for a cup of coffee and thought that it was the correct price. He did not realise that there was such a difference between euro and lira prices. I realise that I am skipping over the UK's decision, but I emphasise the importance of planning in advance in the event that the UK adopts the currency. A number of steps have to be taken in the UK, but if it joins, advance planning will help to make the euro more readily accepted by the public.
The Chairman mentioned price comparability across Europe, which is one of the benefits of joining the euro. It is beneficial for customers to be able to say that a given product is cheaper or more expensive in Spain, Italy or Germany. Such comparability has the added benefit of placing a certain amount of pressure on the Minister for Finance - the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the UK - if he has placed a specific tax or excise duty on specific products. One of the reasons wine or other alcoholic products are more expensive in Ireland is nothing to do with the changeover, but relates to the high rate of excise taxation. There may be very valid reasons for such taxes, for example in the case of cigarettes.
The greatest disadvantage of the euro is that the Government has lost the power to, on its own, do what is right for the economy. What might be right for the German economy, which was trying to heat up a year ago due to high unemployment, might not be right for Ireland, which was trying to dampen its economy at the time. We do not have the freedom to use the economic tools we have used in the past, such as setting interest rates.
If I were to emphasise only one aspect of the euro it would be that the work done before the introduction of the euro, after the decision to join has been made, is important. Careful listening and planning is needed. It is more than a year since we adjusted to the euro, but I discovered only last week that despite our forward planning, £358 million remains outstanding in pockets, drawers and sofas. I am not trying to plug my company, but it is offering to take the old money for three days next week. I mention it as it has been done in other countries where a huge amount of money has been retained unintentionally.
I would love to see the United Kingdom adopt the euro, if only for the ease it would afford to Irish people who travel and do business there.