E-DAY, the introduction of the euro on January 1st next year, seems set to become the biggest logistical exercise undertaken in Europe since the D-day landings more than 50 years ago.
Some 50 billion euro coins and 15 billion bank notes will be rolled out across Europe, the final step in creating a single currency zone stretching from the Atlantic to the Alps, from the warm waters of the Mediterranean to Finland's frozen north.
Pesetas and pounds, marks, francs and liras will become things of the past as the project, dismissed by many as a pipe-dream just a few years ago, becomes a reality.
To put the scale and complexity of the task into context, the European Central Bank (ECB) estimates that the new euro notes, put end-to-end, would stretch to the moon and back five times, while the metal in the coins would fill 10,000 trucks.
Managing the euro poses different challenges for the various member-states. Little Luxembourg, whose armed forces number just 700, faces a very different set of problems to France, which has to ship 1,500 tonnes of euro coins to overseas territories in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean.
While the sums being dealt with in the Republic are modest by comparison with the larger member-states, achieving a smooth and successful changeover poses real challenges for Irish consumers, business and the authorities.
"The one clear fact about Euro day next January is that it is truly irreversible," the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, said recently. "It's going to happen and we must be ready."
However, here as in other member-states, there have been concerns about the levels of preparedness of all those involved.
The Government has been accused of complacency and a lack of urgency in its approach to the task. Recent surveys suggest that while business is well informed about the changeover, it has yet to take the practical steps necessary to ensure a successful transition. Forfas, which undertakes regular surveys as part of its EMU Business Awareness Campaign, says initial indications from its most recent survey suggest that an increased level of preparation has yet to translate into practical action.
"Businesses have yet to pick up the phone and talk to their business partners, their customers and suppliers. A lot of firms have still got to come to grips with the nitty-gritty specifics," says Forfas's Ms Yvonne Cullen.
Meanwhile, another recent poll suggested that of the 300 million European citizens who will adopt the currency from next year, the Irish public was the least familiar with its conversion rate to the euro.
However, while many businesses and members of the public have yet to get their heads around the change, a lot of work has been going on behind the scenes.
The Central Bank has the onerous task of putting 1,000 million euro coins and 200 million notes into circulation on January 1st next year and has been working on their production for the last two years. Staff at the bank's currency centre in Sandyford, Dublin, are currently working flat out to make the deadline.
Arrangements are also being made for the safe distribution of the new currency to those in the front line, the banks and major retailers who will be the main agents in getting the new notes and coins out to consumers and taking existing Irish pound notes and coins out of circulation.
The banks too have been gearing up to play their part. Most began work on converting their operating systems some years ago, along with their preparations for the Millennium Bug.
Some 80 per cent of ATMs are expected to be converted to euros on the first day and initially they will dispense predominantly €10 and €20 notes.
But issues remain to be resolved, particularly regarding staff and pay.
Other parts of the Government machine have also been making preparations. According to the Euro Changeover Board, which is overseeing the whole process, the two sections most affected will be the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs, which interface most with the public.
Both are on track for the changeover and from next year, all tax returns will be in euros as will social welfare payments.
And while members of the public may not know the conversion rate to six places, awareness is improving.
The Euro Changeover Board's most recent survey, carried out in early May, found that 64 per cent of people now know that a pound will get you €1.27, up from 38 per cent in November.
In addition, 95 per cent of people know the name of the single currency, 91 per cent have seen prices in both Irish pounds and euro, and 79 per cent know the new currency will be introduced next January.
The big issue on the consumer front, however, will be pricing.
The Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs has been working on this area, drawing up a national code to provide for transparency in the pricing of goods and services. It has also approved a number of sectoral codes such as those drawn up by IBEC and the Irish Insurance Federation.
Those who have signed up to the national code to date are a varied bunch, including VHI, Trinity College Dublin, the National Maternity Hospital and the Divine Word Missionaries, as well as more mainstream businesses. All will be entitled to display a logo, with a smiling face, indicating they are meeting the commitments set out in the code.
These include an undertaking to carry out the changeover fairly and seek no advantage from the conversion and a commitment to display prices in both Irish pounds and euros from October 1st until March 9th next year.
In the autumn, the director of Consumer Affairs, Ms Carmel Foley, will launch a public campaign, urging the public to shop where they see the logo.
This, and other information campaigns, should help ensure that what is already a pricey exercise - with the cost to the Exchequer alone estimated at £100 million (€127 million) - should not end up costing us even more.
Next week: Lorna Siggins on how Loughrea in Galway has fared since it was designated a "Euro town"
jmosullivan@irish-times.ie
