The Central Bank has asked the public to treat euro banknotes with care, to make it easier to spot forgeries. The Bank said yesterday the euro notes had been produced to an extremely high standard. Maintaining that quality could ensure genuine banknotes could be recognised by consumers.
"We would hope the public would use wallets or some similar holder for their banknotes.
"We would particularly appeal to people not to crumple their banknotes or fold them more than once," a spokesman said yesterday.
Irish banknotes have had a shorter life span than currencies in many other countries, mainly because of the way the public here mistreat them. "We hope that behaviour may change a little and that the enthusiasm with which the public have welcomed the euro here will be reflected in how they treat the new notes," he added.
By close of business on Friday, the Central Bank had issued 135.5 million euro notes and 1 billion euro coins.
At that point there were €2.7 billion (£2.13 billion) in circulation, an increase of €58 million on the previous day. Since December 31st, the total increase was €81 million or 3.1 per cent according to the Central Bank.
The amount of Irish currency in circulation continues to fall steadily.
On Friday it stood at €2.9 billion, a drop of 6 per cent on the previous day and a fall of 20 per cent on the amount in circulation at the end of December.
A spokesman for the European Commission said no serious forgeries had yet come to light and opinion polls conducted in a number of euro-zone countries showed the vast majority of people were satisfied with how the changeover had gone.
The Netherlands, the Republic, Portugal, Belgium, Finland, and Greece are leading the way in terms of the changeover, according to the Commission.
More than half of all cash payments are being made in euro in all of the dozen countries that have adopted the single currency and the average is just under two thirds.
European Central Bank president, Mr Wim Duisenberg, said the acceptance by consumers of the new currency and the achievement of logistical targets have surpassed all expectations.
"The euro has become the main trading cash currency for the 304 million citizens of the euro area. More than 50 per cent of transactions are already being conducted in euro," he said yesterday.
Between January 1st and 4th the ECB put the total value of euro notes in circulation through the euro zone at around €50 billion.
The euro retreated yesterday to within a whisker of levels seen on the eve of its cash launch last week, after Argentina devalued its currency and a pro-European Italian foreign minister resigned.
The single European currency fell to 0.8929 dollars from 0.8947 dollars on Friday in New York - putting it close to levels of around 0.89 dollars seen just before the new notes and coins became legal tender on Tuesday. The dollar stood at 130.92 yen from 131.03 in New York.
