: With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 and 17 together.
A small number of cases involving difficulties in exchanging Irish currency abroad has been brought to the attention of my Department and the Central Bank.
The efforts of the Central Bank and my Department have been directed towards making Irish currency better known and hence more widely accepted by banks in general and in particular those operating branches at international airports in the EEC. This is aimed at ensuring that Irish currency notes and other instruments will be readily exchangeable at banks. Duty free shops and other commercial outlets are more likely to accept Irish currency in payment if their banks are prepared to convert it into national currency.
The Central Bank have circulated specimens of Irish notes to central banks in other countries and have approached directly those banks operating branches at international airports in the EEC.
My Department, in addition, have been in contact with the EEC Commission which, in turn, raised the matter with the Committee of Credit Associations of the European Communities. The committee has indicated that it encourages its members to provide facilities for the exchange of Irish currency at major locations such as city centre and airport branches.
I appreciate the annoyance to travellers which a refusal to accept our currency abroad can cause but there are limits to what can be achieved by official action. As I indicated previously to the House — for example, in a reply to a question on 20 March 1980 — the strict legal position is that banks and commercial institutions in general cannot be legally compelled to exchange or accept as payment currencies other than their own. In practice the most important factor in determining whether a currency will be accepted is that of cost. Banks which do not have a matching turnover in Irish currency notes may not be willing to incur the costs involved in returning them to this country. This is probably the major reason behind the cases of non-acceptance of Irish notes which have been reported.
