From the £ (pound sterling) to the Punt (IRP) and
to the €
|
|
ß BACK
|
Pre-decimal system
|
|
The Irish pound, originally called the Saorstát pound ('Free
State pound'), was introduced in 1928 by the Currency Commission,
which was later transferred to the Banc Ceannais
na hÉireann or the Central Bank of
Ireland, which is the
central bank of the Republic of Ireland and had control of the issue of Irish
banknotes and coins.
|
|
The complete list of pre-1971 Irish coins:
|
|
farthing - a quarter of a penny
(Feorling)
|
|
|
half-penny (leath
phingin)
|
|
|
penny (pingin)
|
|
|
threepenny bit (leath réal)
|
|
|
sixpenny bit (réal)
|
|
|
shilling (scilling)
|
|
|
florin (flóirín)
|
|
|
half-crown (leath
choróin)
|
|
The Decimal System
|
|
In 1971 the Irish Republic and
the United Kingdom
introduced the same denominations of coins, of the same size and weight, (½,
1, 2, 5, 10, and 50 pence) although with different designs.
|
|
|
|
In 1979, with its
participation in the European Exchange
Rate Mechanism. (The EEM was a system introduced by the
European Community in March 1979, as part of the European Monetary System [EMS],
to reduce exchange-rate variability and achieve monetary stability in Europe
in preparation for the introduction of a single currency, the Euro, which
took place in January 1999.) the Irish pound ended parity with the
pound Sterling, becoming known as the Irish Punt.
|
|
Irish coins introduced after 1979 (20p and £1) were of a completely
different size and weight from the equivalent British coins, as were the 5p
and 10p coins after both countries reduced the coins in size in the early
1990s.
|
|
On January 1st the € was introduced in the Republic of Ireland.
|
|
|
|
Northern
Ireland as part of the UK has
retained the pound sterling. Like other areas of the UK,
however, Northern Ireland issues
its own bank notes, which can be used all over the British
Isles.
|
|
|
Irish Economy in the
European Union (The Celtic Tiger) in Figures
|
|
|
|
Newsweek, May 10th,
2004
|
|
|
|
THE BIG BANG HAS GONE OFF. [Meant is the Eastward
expansion of the EU of May 1st 2004.] Now is the time for second thoughts. Among
newcomers and old-timers alike, politicians are scrambling to reassure
skeptical electorates that May 1 will bring no harmful changes. Not so. While
the long-term economic and social consequences of EU enlargement will almost
certainly be positive, one thing is certain: some unpleasant surprises will
come along the way.
|
|
To be sure, new Europe's architects have good cause for optimism. Economic growth in the 10
countries joining the European Union was 3.7 percent last year,nearly 10
times that of the existing euro zone. U.S. and foreign multinationals, quick to scent big
opportunities, are investing heavily, both in the East and West. Yet a whiff
of overconfidence taints the air. The EU's new members all hope to follow in
the footsteps of Spain and Portugal, which joined in 1986 and thrived. They don't speak as loudly of
duplicating Ireland's "economic miracle," where per capita incomes rose from 62
percent of Europe's average in
1973 to 121 percent today, surpassing its former imperial ruler, Great Britain. But that's the
dream.
|
|
Reality is more sobering. The successes of yore
were made possible by large infusions of cash. Spain and Portugal received EU subsidies totaling as much as 10 percent
of GNP. As for Ireland, besides the
subsidies it became the preferred launch pad into Europe for American
multinationals, which generate more than two thirds of the country's exports
and spurred the country's famous high-tech boom. Rural Irish unhappy about
EU entry were quickly bought off with generous investments funded by the Union.
|
|
Today's EU is very different. From the earliest
days of European integration, Germany was the paymaster that made all good things
financially possible. But after spending a trillion euros over a decade on
the former East Germany, money in Berlin – and hence Brussels – is much
tighter. Led by Germany, the six net contributors to the EU budget have called for a break.
And despite the funds and factories coming in from America and elsewhere, Eastern Europe is probably too large and too diverse to replicate
the Irish experience.
|
|
|
|
ß TOP
|