More euro news in the Irish times to-day. Also in the Netherlands the change is progressing smoothly with now about 80% use of the euro. Ireland and the Netherlands are doint the best job of all.
Senior citizens compare notes Pensioners appear to be having little trouble adjusting to the new currency, Mary Minihan reports You can teach an old dog new tricks appeared to be the attitude of most senior citizens collecting their pensions in euro for the first time. Many pensioners at the packed Rathmines Post Office in Dublin yesterday morning said they were coping well with the changeover, although some said it was the "old people" they felt really sorry for. Local man Mr Sean � Cr�in�n was particularly enthusiastic about the new currency, which he thought was "better than the other money". The 75-year-old said he regularly visited friends in Germany and the changeover would take the difficulty out his next trip. "I won't be changing to deutschemarks anymore. I'll just get money out of the machine over there, if there's anything in it, of course," Mr � Cr�in�n said. Ms Nella Cleary from Ranelagh collected her pension money and found it to be "exactly right". She said the changeover was inevitable and had not presented her with any great difficulty. "We were all very well prepared and had these little do-dahs," she said, waving her euro converter. Ms Margaret Hennessey said she was already "flying" with the new currency. "I paid for my coffee in euro today and I thought I was great," she laughed. Not everyone was so receptive to the new currency, however. One man dismissed the coins as "fiddler's money" and complained that he would have to wear his reading glasses to see them. Another disgruntled 75-year-old from Rathgar said the changeover had been a mistake. "It was a rotten thing to do to change the money. They should have left it as it was." Rathmines woman Ms Kitty Nugent, admitted she found the new coins a little confusing. "I thought we had finished with the ha'penny and now we've got something even smaller," she said. However, she was also finding the converter helpful and had used it to work out how much pension she would receive before leaving the house yesterday morning. Ms Georgina Blowers, from Harold's Cross, was worried that elderly people could be ripped-off. "But I'm too cute for them. I watch every penny." Rural areas slow to start using new currency By Mary Minihan Fewer than 20 per cent of transactions in rural areas are being carried out in euro, according to an RGDATA survey. Ms Ailish Forde, director general of RGDATA, blamed the low use of the new currency on the reduction of banking services in isolated areas. "We even have one member in the west who confirmed that no euro currency had yet been tendered by a consumer by day four of the currency," she said. Ms Forde said the results of the survey of RGDATA members highlighted a "definite urban and rural divide" in the use of euro by consumers. She said there was widespread use of the new currency in urban areas where customers had access to banks and ATM machines - as high as 90 per cent in the Dublin area. The head of the Euro Changeover Board of Ireland, Mr Philip Hamell, said the result of the survey was "not unexpected". Mr Hamell said he remained confident that the majority of transactions would be in euro by the end of the weekend. �The Irish Times A week of bemusement, anger for consumers Jane O'Sullivan examines the main issues which have preoccupied Irish consumers in week one of the new currency Anger, annoyance, amazement and even amusement were among the wide range of emotions expressed by callers to Euro Watch during the week. While the introduction of the single currency generally got off to a flying start, there were a number of minor hiccups and consumers were not slow to spot or report them. One of the first callers rang to complain that his Irish Nationwide branch in Dublin's Camden Street declined to change �155 into euro for him. But annoyed as he was at this, what left him dumbstruck was that the staff at a financial institution suggested he cross the street to the corner shop to get his euro. Another caller rang to say his wife, a TSB customer, was equally bemused when her branch in Dundrum refused to change �16 into the new currency and she was advised to tender her coins in a shop. "She took the kids to McDonald's and ordered �8 worth of stuff but they took all of her coins and gave her euro back. "Basically, they did the bank's business." A TSB spokesman later said this was an isolated incident and it was the bank's policy to change Irish coins. He attributed the mistake to human error, an explanation that surfaced several times during the week. But this proved to be a poor consolation for those experiencing frustration or disappointment. One mother who took her children to a well-known toy store with their Christmas money had to leave again without their carefully chosen purchases after the cashier declined to accept their Irish pounds. The store later apologised for the error but by then the business had been lost to another shop. Aside from human error, a number of system errors also surfaced. Of the financial institutions, key agents in the changeover process, the State's largest bank, AIB, definitely came out worst. A glitch in its systems meant six ATMs across the State overcharged those withdrawing cash on New Year's Day. Angry AIB customers also rang in their droves to complain that they were still waiting for cheque books. Aside from prices being rounded up, the most common euro complaint related to outlets refusing to handle Irish coins. This was an unexpected development. Many of those involved in the euro planning process had feared retailers would see their euro floats quickly disappear as customers proferred �50 notes and left with all the euro change. Instead, retail outlets and banks found themselves faced with "boxes, bags, bottles and buckets" of small coin and the time-consuming task of sorting and counting it. A growing number of such retailers and banks have proved distinctly reluctant to take it on. One publican noted ruefully that businesses should have seen it coming. The well-publicised shortage of pennies in recent years pointed to the amount of hoarded coins in the system which is only now surfacing. However, most outlets did their best in difficult circumstances, and many of the failings were genuine errors rather than businesses trying to take advantage of unwary consumers. And if Euro Watch uncovered anything over the course of the week, it was that Irish consumers are increasingly a force to be reckoned with. A growing number are prepared to complain, to report problems if they do not get satisfaction, and to take their business elsewhere when all else fails. �The Irish Times Two Letters to the Editor SWITCHING TO THE EURO Sir, - Managing change is widely regarded as being one of the most difficult tasks a manager can attempt and Mr Philip Hamill and his team at the Euro Changeover Board of Ireland deserve our congratulations on a job well done. It seems a pity that a team with such excellent leadership, management and educational skills now faces disbandment when there is still so much to do in terms of Europeanisation. For instance, when will the roadside speed limits signs be changed to kilometres? How long are we expected to have to put up with the dual standard of distances in kilometres and speed limits in m.p.h? Dare we even think of changing to driving on the right, like the rest of Europe and North America? After the euro, everything is possible. - Yours, etc., JOHN BANIM, Taney Road, Dublin 14. Sir, - The following euro conversion factor may be of assistance to some of your elderly readers: 1 euro = 15s9d in the old money. What is remarkable is that this is accurate to within one hundredth of a euro cent. - Yours. etc., EUGENE GATH, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Limerick.
