OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK
at the request of the Euro Changeover Board of  Ireland on draft Mini sterial Orders issued
under the Economic and Monetary Union Act, 1998
CON/00/13
1. On 24 May 2000 the European Central Bank  (ECB) received a request from the Euro
Changeover Board of Ireland for an ECB Opini on on draft Ministerial Orders issued under the
Economic and Monetary Union Act, 1998.
2. The ECB’s competence to deliver an opinion is based on Article 2 of the Council Decision
(98/415/EC) of 29 June 1998 on the consultation of  the European Central Bank by national
authorities regarding draft legislative provisions, as the legislative proposal contains provisions
concerning currency matters. In accordance with Article 17.5, first sentence, of the Rules ofProcedure of the European Central Bank, this ECB Opinion has been adopted by the Governing
Council of the ECB.
3. The Ministerial Orders make provision for th e following: (1) in acco rdance with Regulation
(EC) No. 974/98 and section 9( 1) of the Economic and Monetary Union Act, 1998, the
retention of legal tender status for banknotes and coins denominated in Irish pounds until9 February 2002; (2) in accordance with section 15 of the Economic and Monetary Union Act,1998, the calling-in of decimal coins of all denominations in Irish pounds and a commemorativecoin with effect from the date of withdraw al of legal tender status; (3) in accordance with
section 11(1) of the Economic and Monetary Union Act, 1998, the tec hnical specifications,
dimensions and design of euro and cent coin s provided by the Minister for Finance (in
compliance with Council Regulation (EC) N o. 975/98 of 3 May 1998 on denominations and
technical specifications of euro coins inte nded for circulation, as amended by Council
Regulation (EC) No. 423/1999 of  22 February 1999 amending Regulation (EC) No. 975/98);
and (4) in accordance with Section 11(2) of the Economic and Monetary Union Act, 1998, theissuance of euro and cent coins with effect from 1 January 2002.
4. The ECB notes the decision by the Irish Govern ment to end the period of dual circulation of
euro and Irish pound banknotes and coins at mi dnight on 9 February 2002 by withdrawing the
legal tender status of Irish banknotes and coin s from that date. This decision will facilitate a
rapid cash changeover in Ireland.
5. The ECB agrees that it would not be appropriate to repeat in Irish law the denominations and
technical specifications for euro coins pres cribed by Council Regulation (EC) No. 975/98 of
3 May 1998 on denominations and technical sp ecifications of euro coins intended for
circulation, as amended by Council Regu lation (EC) No. 423/1999 of 22 February 1999
amending Regulation (EC) No. 975/98. The ECB notes that the Mi nisterial Order prescribing
the design of coins provided by the Minister  for Finance attaches as a schedule to the
Ministerial Order the agreed text describing the designs for the common face of each of the
coins, as approved by the ECOFIN Council and announced at the June 1997 European Council
meeting in Amsterdam. The ECB notes that this text has not been set out in any formal legal
instrument to date. The ECB welcomes the d ecision by the Irish Government, in conjunction
with six of the other participating Member St ates, to adopt a common edge lettering for the
EUR 2 coin, which will further enhance the harm onisation of the techni cal specifications for
such coins circulating throughout the euro area.
6. The ECB confirms that it has no objection to this ECB Opinion being made public by the
competent national authorities at their discretion.
Done at Frankfurt am Main on 7 June 2000.
The President of the ECB
[signed]
Willem F. Duisenberg