Public more aware of Euro than ever says changeover body

Irish people are more conscious of the Euro now than they were 12 months ago, according to the Euro changeover board. In 12 months time, 300 million European citizens in 12 countries will be exchanging their national currencies for new Euro notes. One Euro is equal to IR£0.79. Philip Hamill of the Irish Euro Changeover board says people in this country are better prepared than most countries. He says according to a survey the Board did recently, 92% of people knew the Euro was coming, 70% had seen pictures of the new notes and coins, and two-thirds knew that the changeover would begin on January 1st, 2002.