Punters still changing old money for new
Lucky 'punters' have beaten a path to the central bank this year to exchange their obsolete tender for €170,890, new figures show.
It is now 23 years since the Punt ceased to the legal tender here with the introduction of the euro across Europe in 2002.
However, new figures provided by Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe TD (FG) in a written Dáil reply show that more than two decades on people are continuing to find old punts and pence 'at the back of the couch' with £134,587 in old money exchanged for €170,890 from January 1st to the end of April 25th this year.
In the Dáil reply to Aidan Farrelly (Soc Dem), Mr Donohoe has revealed that since 2015 to the present a total value of £7.05 million in Irish Punt banknotes and coins have been exchanged for €8.96 million based on the IR£1 = €1.269 exchange rate.
READ MORE
The £134,587 in punts exchanged so far this year followed £451,496 for the 12 months of 2024 which was, in fact, an increase on the £419,794 exchanged by the central bank in 2023.
The exchange of punts for euros reached a low of £326,746 during the Covid-19 hit 2020 and there has been a decline in the level of punts exchanged from the years 2015 to 2017, when more than £1 million was exchanged in each of those years for euros.
Across the decade-plus long period, the central bank has received 1,737 applications from members of the public with punt amounts more than £750 with an overall value of £5.17 million.
100 days of Trump: 'It's like The Karate Kid, tax on, tax off, tariffs on, tariffs off'
Listen |
42:49
Over the period from 2015, the central bank received a further 4,091 applications from members of the public, totalling £1.39 million in value for punt totals between £150 and £749.
Commenting on the reply, Mr Farrelly said: 'I am surprised by the amount of so-called 'old money' still being converted to euros, given the duration of time that has passed since the State adopted use of the euro.
He said: 'I don't have a memory of using punts, I seldom see the former currency so when I do, to be honest it is somewhat of a novelty.
The Kildare North TD said: 'The Minister has provided an informative response in relation to thresholds for applications of the various sums that have been converted, it clearly illustrates that there was and likely is still small stockpiles of the old currency out there somewhere.
For those looking to exchange amounts above £750, the central bank asks individuals to demonstrate from where the banknotes came and that would include reliable and independent data, documents or information to evidence the source of funds and/or proof of their ownership of the banknotes.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
9 hours ago
- RTÉ News
How many people in Ireland believe in conspiracy theories?
Analysis: While the majority do not believe six prominent conspiracy theories, the level of support for some of these might raise a few eyebrows By Robert Brennan and Rabhya Mehrotra, DCU Conspiracy beliefs are explanations for events or situations that involve secret plots by powerful and malevolent groups. These beliefs often arise when people are trying to make sense of complex, uncertain, or threatening situations. While some conspiracy theories turn out to be based on genuine misconduct or secrecy, most are built on misinformation, misunderstanding or deliberate distortion of reality. Research suggests that conspiracy thinking can be more common when people feel powerless, threatened or distrustful of institutions. Social media platforms can also amplify conspiracy narratives by enabling rapid sharing of misinformation and connecting like-minded believers It has been well documented that conspiracy theories have gained traction in recent years, particularly among the loud minority of the far-right. This was one of the issues to feature in the recently published National Election and Democracy Study. The survey asked the public the extent to which they believed six prominent conspiracy theories to be true, including if a small, secret group of people is responsible for making all major decisions in world politics. From RTÉ Radio 1's Today with Claire Byrne, why are so many conspiracy theories reaching mainstream media? Two of the conspiracy theories concerned the notion that the public is unknowingly being exposed to diseases or being experimented on, beliefs that boomed during the Covid-19 pandemic: Viruses and/or diseases have been deliberately disseminated to infect certain populations. Experiments involving new drugs or technologies are routinely carried out on the public without their knowledge or consent. Another two conspiracy theories concerned immigration, specifically that the establishment building a base of loyal migrant voters and the 'Great replacement' theory (a myth with origins in Nazi propaganda that has been directly linked to devastating acts of terrorism): Elected officials want more immigration to bring in obedient voters who will vote for them. The establishment is replacing white Irish people with non-white immigrants. The final two were more the classic kinds of conspiracy theories, that the public are being tricked and controlled by the elite or an ominous, unseen group: Groups of scientists manipulate, fabricate, or suppress evidence in order to deceive the public. A small, secret group of people is responsible for making all major decisions in world politics. Overall, the responses show that the majority of people do not believe in these conspiracy theories, with well over half of the population dismissing them as unlikely, or definitely not true. But the amount of support these theories have, however, might raise a few eyebrows. The 'classics' seem to have the most support, with roughly a third of people leaning towards believing that the public are being deceived by scientists or that a secret group of people control the world behind the scenes. These percentages shoot up to over half of the population if you include those who are unsure whether these beliefs are true or not. Belief for conspiracies concerning the public being intentionally exposed to diseases or experimented on had less support. Roughly a quarter of people thought these to be true to some extent. Again, however, a considerable amount of people were unsure, bringing the percentage of the population who give these beliefs at least some degree of truth to just below half. From RTÉ Radio 1's Brendan O'Connor Show, Ciarán O'Connor from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue on 'conspirituality', where wellness culture and conspiracies collide The conspiracy theories the Irish population believe to be the least likely to be true are those centred around immigration and ethnicity. Just under a quarter of people believe the idea that the establishment is importing loyal voters or the great replacement theory. A further 20% or people or so have some doubts. What sources lead to people believing in conspiracy theories? We have previously looked at what the 2024 General Election survey tells us about media use, media trust and trust in institutions among the Irish public. Here, we report on correlations in the data that show how each of these relate to one's level of belief in conspiracy theories. A clear link emerged between how much people used different sources of information and belief in conspiracy theories. The more people used journalistic media (RTÉ and newspapers) in forming an opinion before voting, the less likely they were to believe in conspiracy theories. The reverse was found for non-journalistic media, whereby the more people used social media and messaging apps, the more likely they were to believe in conspiracies. Interestingly, the same trends were found when looking at the relationship between media trust and conspiracy beliefs. We found that greater trust in non-journalistic media (such as messaging apps and social Media) correlates with higher belief in conspiracy theories overall. Conversely, higher trust and use of journalistic media (RTÉ, newspapers), along with higher education levels and use of party information for voting decisions, correlate with lower belief in conspiracies. Age, gender, and trust in party information show no real impact. The bottom line seems clear. There are lower levels of conspiracy belief amongst those who trust traditional media, even if they do not use it. It would seem then that supporting the use and trust of journalistic media is very much in the interest of everyone who values a good information ecosystem. It's also important not to overstate the significance of the data trends we identified in the post-election survey, as they only give a broad indication of what the people of Ireland are willing to endorse. Nevertheless, the election surveys are, and will continue to be an important barometer of the Irish public's attitudes towards such beliefs over time. Dr Robert A. Brennan is a postdoctoral researcher with the Institute for Future Media, Democracy and Society (FuJo) at DCU. Rabhya Mehrotra is a Mitchell Scholar who is doing a Masters in Political Communication at DCU. She is a part of the COMDEL team at the (FuJo).
Irish Daily Mirror
10 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Housing Minister cannot say when rents will fall as new RPZ measures confirmed
Housing Minister James Browne has admitted that he does not know when his new plans for Rent Pressure Zone will result in lower rents. The Fianna Fáil TD confirmed, however, that after six years, all tenants could face massive rent increases as landlords will be allowed to 'reset' rents to market rates. The Dáil heard that thousands of rents will increase annually as renters voluntarily leave their tenancies all the time. Cabinet agreed on Tuesday to extend and modify the Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) legislation, which is due to lapse at the end of the year. This will see rent increases capped at 2 per cent annually for new tenancies. Rents in new build apartments will be linked to Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rates. These rules will be applied nationwide. From March 1 2026, tenancies of unlimited duration will be introduced through rolling six-year tenancies. Small landlords, those with three properties or fewer, can only terminate a tenancy during the six-year period if they face hardship, such as separation, homelessness, emigration from abroad, or bankruptcy. As reported by the Irish Mirror on Tuesday, the list of family members that a landlord can expel a tenant for will be tightened to parents, children or a spouse. At the end of each six-year tenancy, a smaller landlord will have the right to terminate a tenancy if they are selling, renovating, giving it to a family member or ceasing to rent. Landlords with four or more tenancies will not be able to end a tenancy where the tenant has complied with their obligations, except in very limited circumstances. However, all landlords will have the right to reset rent where the rent is below market at the end of each six-year tenancy, unless a 'no fault eviction' occurs. This, Minister Browne suggested, means that there should not be a large increase in rents until 2032. This will not affect existing tenancies, Taoiseach Micheál Martin insisted in the Dáil. Minister Browne said that the Government was not portraying the changes as a 'silver bullet' and said that the only way rents will come down is through increased supply. He argued that new apartments are being exempt from the 2% cap as international investors are 'not looking at our State'. When asked if rents would fall over the next 24 months, Mr Browne refused to answer the question with a yes or no. Instead, he said he 'expects rents to fall over time' and he wanted them to come down as quickly as possible. He added: 'What that particular length of time is, I wouldn't be able to predict.' He continued: 'If we get that supply moving, we will start and see rents going down. 'But if we continue doing what we're doing at the moment, we're simply not going to see those rents coming down.' Minister Browne also said he would like 'maximum transparency' and he would like to see a rent register implemented. However, he acknowledged there was no Government agreement to do so. In the Dáil, the changes to RPZ legislation were torn to shreds by the opposition. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald questioned the ability to increase rents to market rates once renters leave voluntarily, noting that thousands of people voluntarily leave tenancies every year. She said: 'You say or claim that landlords will only be allowed to reset rent to the market rate if a tenant leaves voluntarily. 'Well Taoiseach, tens of thousands of renters leave tenancies voluntarily every single year. 'Under your proposals, as one renter walks out the door, they will be replaced by another whose rent will have balloons. Students will be amongst the first hit by your actions'
RTÉ News
11 hours ago
- RTÉ News
World Bank slashes global growth forecast as trade tensions bite
The World Bank has slashed its global growth forecast for 2025 by 0.4 percentage point to 2.3%, saying that higher tariffs and heightened uncertainty posed a "significant headwind" for nearly all economies. In its twice-yearly Global Economic Prospects report, the bank lowered its forecasts for nearly 70% of all economies -including the United States, China and Europe, as well as six emerging market regions - from the levels it projected just six months ago before US President Donald Trump took office. PresidentTrump has upended global trade with a series of on-again, off-again tariff hikes that have increased the effective US tariff rate from below 3% to the mid-teens - its highest level in almost a century - and triggered retaliation by China and other countries. The World Bank is the latest body to cut its growth forecast as a result of President Trump's erratic trade policies, although US officials insist the negative consequences will be offset by a surge in investment and still-to-be approved tax cuts. The bank stopped short of forecasting a recession, but said global economic growth this year would be its weakest outside of a recession since 2008. By 2027, global gross domestic product growth was expected to average just 2.5%, the slowest pace of any decade since the 1960s. The report forecast that global trade would grow by 1.8% in 2025, down from 3.4% in 2024 and roughly a third of its 5.9% level in the 2000s. The forecast is based on tariffs in effect as of late May, including a 10% US tariff on imports from most countries. It excludes increases announced by PresidentTrump in April and then postponed until July 9 to allow for negotiations. The bank said global inflation was expected to reach 2.9% in 2025, remaining above pre-COVID levels, given tariff increases and tight labor markets. "Risks to the global outlook remain tilted decidedly to the downside," the bank wrote. It said its models showed that afurther 10-percentage point increase in average US tariffs, on top of the 10% rate already implemented, and proportional retaliation by other countries, could shave another 0.5 percentage point off the outlook for 2025. Such an escalation in trade barriers would result "in globa ltrade seizing up in the second half of this year ... accompanied by a widespread collapse in confidence, surging uncertainty andturmoil in financial markets," the report said. Nonetheless, it said the risk of a global recession was less than 10%. 'FOG ON A RUNWAY' Top officials from the United States and China are meeting in London this week to try to defuse a trade dispute that has widened from tariffs to restrictions over rare earth minerals, threatening a global supply chain shock and slower growth. "Uncertainty remains a powerful drag, like fog on a runway. It slows investment and clouds the outlook," World Bank Deputy Chief Economist Ayhan Kose told Reuters in an interview. But he said there were signs of increased dialogue on trade that could help dispel uncertainty, and supply chains were adapting to a new global trade map, not collapsing. Global trade growth could see a modest rebound in 2026 to 2.4%, and developments in artificial intelligence could also boost growth, he said. "We think that eventually the uncertainty will decline," he said. "Once the type of fog we have lifts, the trade engine may start running again, but at a slower pace." Kose said while things could get worse, trade was continuing and China, India and others were still delivering robust growth. Many countries were also discussing new trade partnerships that could pay dividends later, he said. US GROWTH FORECAST CUT SHARPLY The World Bank said the global outlook had "deteriorated substantially" since January, mainly due to advanced economies, now seen growing by just 1.2%, down half a point, after expanding 1.7% in 2024. The US forecast was slashed by 0.9 percentage point from its January forecast to 1.4%, and the 2026 outlook was lowered by 0.4 percentage point to 1.6%. Rising trade barriers,"record-high uncertainty" and a spike in financial market volatility were expected to weigh on private consumption, trade and investment, it said. Growth estimates in the euro area were cut by 0.3 percentagepoint to 0.7% and in Japan by 0.5 percentage point to 0.7%. It said emerging markets and developing economies were expected to grow by 3.8% in 2025 versus 4.1% in January's forecast. Poor countries would suffer the most, the report said. By 2027 developing economies' per capita GDP would be 6% belowpre-pandemic levels, and it could take these countries - minus China - two decades to recoup the economic losses of the 2020s. Mexico, heavily dependent on trade with the U.S., saw its growth forecast cut by 1.3 percentage points to 0.2% in 2025. The World Bank left its forecast for China unchanged at 4.5% from January, saying Beijing still had monetary and fiscal space to support its economy and stimulate growth.
