Address by Mr. Tom Kitt T.D., Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs to the Central Bank of Ireland Euro Information Conference on Wednesday 20th June 2001.

The principal responsibilities of the ODCA in relation to the euro are to:

• Promote awareness among consumers,
• Promote subscription to either the National Code on Euro Changeover, or sectoral codes approved by the Director,
• Ensure compliance with such codes and
• Carry out a series of surveys to establish the level of dual pricing, display of conversion rate, and correct use of conversion rules.

The National Code on Euro Changeover has two main aims, firstly, to inform consumers, by providing for transparency in the pricing of goods and services during the changeover to the euro and, secondly, to assist consumers, in a practical way, to become familiar with pricing in the new currency.

Businesses may sign on to the National Code, or alternatively, to sectoral codes approved by the Director. Subscribers to the codes commit themselves to dual display prices together with other informational measures, and to carry out the changeover fairly and seek no advantage from the conversion.

Subscribers are entitled to display the Director’s Euro Logo as evidence of a commitment by them to implement the changeover fairly. This logo, and approved adaptations, incorporates the logo of the Director of Consumer Affairs and the logo of the European Commission. The former will be instantly recognisable to Irish consumers whereas the EU logo will be familiar to many of our European visitors. At retail level, the logo will include a contact point for use by consumers where they feel that the terms of the Code have not been complied with, or for enquiries they may have. Of course, they should first raise these with the retail outlet itself.

My message - and that of the Director also - to consumers, which we will be vigorously promoting in the Autumn is "Shop where you see the Logo."

To-date, a total of eleven individual companies and eleven trade associations have signed up to the National Code. It is expected that these numbers will be increasing daily as time goes on arising from active encouragement from the Director’s Office by way of specific requests to over 200 trade associations to sign on behalf of their members and responses to enquiries from business.

In relation to sectoral codes, the Director has approved four such codes, while discussions between the ODCA and two other groups are at an advanced stage.

When I relaunched the National Code on Euro Changeover last December I also launched an Action Plan for Euro Changeover. Among the actions in the Plan are surveys by ODCA to see if businesses are dual pricing. Under this Plan, the ODCA carried out the first of these surveys in November, 2000. In summary, over six hundred outlets - large and small supermarkets, garage forecourt shops, pubs, restaurants and hairdressers - were surveyed. In 30% of the premises surveyed, there was evidence of some dual pricing, while 35% had dual priced the final price payable on till receipts. Larger supermarkets showed the highest level of euro awareness. A repeat survey was undertaken in May 2001, the results of which are currently being analysed and will shortly be made public by the Director.

There is, I believe, at this stage, good exposure for the consumer to the euro, through dual display, and the presentation of the conversion rate. Clearly as the year goes on, it would be important that there is an increase in dual display, especially in the smaller shops. The level of contact to the Director’s office in this regard is encouraging.

As the year progresses the ODCA will become increasingly active in ensuring a smooth changeover to the euro. To this end the ODCA has set up a Euro Section which has three full-time staff who have access to the ODCA Inspectorate (20 inspectors), the Director and other officers in the ODCA. As part of their in-house training the Office has issued its first issue of a euro newsletter in April 2001. The purpose of the newsletter is to keep staff focussed on the euro and to keep them updated on euro developments. The Office has also briefed a number of organisations on the consumer aspects of the changeover.

The advent of euro coins and notes in January, 2002, represents the biggest single initiative in terms of developing the single market. One of the acid tests of whether a single market exists will be the ability of consumers to readily avail of goods and services throughout the whole of the eurozone. Clearly the single currency will allow consumers to compare prices across borders. A concern which I would have relates to how consumers who avail of the opportunities of the single market and source goods and services cross border, pay for such services. In many cases this will be by way of some form of cross border credit transfer. I believe that the costs of effecting such transfers, particularly for retail or small value payments, is too high. Indeed, the European Commission have called on banks and other institutions to reduce their charges for effecting cross border transfers in the eurozone. However, consumers will need to be aware that, notwithstanding the advent of the physical euro in January, 2002, there will continue to be a significant price differential between the cost of effecting credit transfers domestically as against the cost of doing so cross-border. I do know that the banking industry is examining a number of initiatives to develop efficient low-value cross border credit transfer systems. It is important that these initiatives deliver significant reductions in the costs of executing cross-border transfers so as to ensure that the full benefits of the single market can be enjoyed by eurozone consumers.

Details of companies/trade associations who have signed up to the National Code:- Individual Companies Sligo Supply Centre Vhi Healthcare Supermacs Jim Murnane Ltd. Cork Trinity College Dublin Divine Word Missionaries National Maternity Hospital Value Tile Ltd. Dundalk Campus Canteen Dundalk College Services Waterford Institute of Technology