Irish people most 'adapted' to euro

The Republic's population is the most likely in the EU to "think in euros" when making purchases, according to new data issued…

The Republic's population is the most likely in the EU to "think in euros" when making purchases, according to new data issued by the European Commission.

The research also shows that the Republic is among the states where satisfaction with the single currency is highest.

Almost 80 per cent of the population is "very happy or quite happy" that the euro has become the Irish currency, a level surpassed only in Luxembourg. Germany is shown to be the state least satisfied with having surrendered its national currency.

Irish people are most "adapted" to the euro, according to the research, which shows 85.5 per cent of the population basing most purchases on euro calculations.

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Even on high-ticket items such as cars or houses, the Irish adaption rate is furthest above average.

In the first detailed study into the introduction of the single currency, citizens of all euro-zone states are shown to have considerable suspicions of the euro and inflation.

More than three-quarters of people in the Republic expressed a belief that euro conversions were calculated to their detriment. The Dutch were even more cynical, with 90 per cent feeling that prices had been rounded up to the benefit of retailers.

Across the 12-state currency zone, 80 per cent of respondents to the survey cited small food shops as the worst culprits in this regard.

At the end of last month, a total of 7.4 billion euro banknotes were in circulation, amounting to €321 billion. The 38.2 billion coins in circulation amounted to €11.9 billion.

The most common banknote was the €50, accounting for almost 30 per cent of the total.

The coin equivalent was the one cent, which accounts for 17.4 per cent of all euro coins in circulation.

Both notes and coins have been "migrating" across borders, according to the study. It suggests that different denominations of notes and coins mix at different rates, with a higher percentage of foreign coins typically found in urban rather than rural areas.

Úna McCaffrey

Úna McCaffrey

Úna McCaffrey is an Assistant Business Editor at The Irish Times