Euro spending to go ahead of punt this weekend
A sharp rise in the number of people using the euro is expected today as crowds return to the streets for the first busy shopping day of the New Year.
By Sunday, it is anticipated that most cash payments will be made using the single currency, putting Ireland well ahead of the Euro-Zone average.
The European Commission says that some sixty million or one in five EU citizens now hold euro notes and coins.
According to the ECBI around a third of all cash transactions in the republic are in the new currency and the volume is expected to be boosted by social welfare payments, pensions and a busy Saturday for retailers.
So far, ninety per cent of transactions in Dublin shops are being carried out in euro, but that figure reaches just twenty per cent in some rural areas.
The only problem reported so far includes a shortage of five and ten euro notes in some areas but that situation is expected to change with increased circulation over the weekend.
By Sunday, it is expected the euro will for the first time replace the Punt as the dominant currency in Ireland.
