The Central Bank is currently printing the last Irish bank notes before the introduction of the euro. The final print run of 15 million £50 (€63) notes will cease to be legal tender this day next year. The average lifespan of a bank note is one year and the Central Bank ceased production of the other denominations in the past few months.

The bank has been producing euro notes since April 2000 and will have 240 million notes ready for issue at the beginning of next year. It's expected the vast bulk of the changeover will happen within two weeks of the introduction of the new currency, but the dual-circulation period will be six weeks - from January 1st to February 9th, 2002. From February 10th 2002 it will no longer be possible to pay for goods and services in Irish pounds, but retail banks will continue to accept the currency for lodgments and exchange for a period of time after that, possibly six months. During that time, the banks will exchange "household amounts" of up to £500 for personal customers free of charge. For anyone who discovers cash under the mattress months or years later, there is no need to panic. The Central Bank will give value in euros indefinitely for Irish notes and coins. The changeover will be implemented by converting all accounts in financial institutions to euro on January 1st, 2002, and ensuring, from then on, that cash going out to businesses, retailers and the public is in euro. At the same time, Irish notes and coins being received by financial institutions, businesses and retailers will not be reissued. The Euro Changeover Board says the public can help make the changeover to cash as smooth as possible by learning how much the euro is worth and building a scale of values in euro.

The fixed exchange rate is £0.787564 to one euro.

One thing the Central Bank is concerned about is the amount of hoarded coins people are keeping at home. Irish households are holding on to the equivalent of two years' worth of issue, or £30 million.

There could be logistical problems if people try to exchange their coins at the last minute.

The Central Bank has stopped producing Irish coins and is concentrating on euro. Bringing hoarded coins back into circulation could prevent a shortage of change later this year. Returned coins will be put back into circulation for a time, but ultimately all Irish coins will be sent to the Central Bank's suppliers in Europe, melted down and recycled. As for the £50 note, it hasn't been with us for that long. It was introduced in 1995 and features a portrait of the first president of the Republic, Douglas Hyde, by Robert Ballagh. In the background is a drawing of Aras an Uachtarain, set against a design from the interior of the Ardagh Chalice. The back of the note features a piper and the crest of Conradh na Gaeilge overlaid on a 16th century manuscript from the collection of the Royal Irish Academy. The popularity of the £50 note is directly linked to the economic boom.

The Central Bank hadn't produced the note for a number of years until 1999 when ATMs stopped giving out fivers and switched to £50 notes instead.

The bank produced 13 million of the bigger denomination notes in 1999 and the same number again last year. Happy spending.