And finally…Ireland stops making cents

From tomorrow, when consumers get change in cash in shops, the amount of that change will be rounded to the nearest 5 cent “to reduce the need for 1 cent and 2 cent coins,” the Central Bank of Ireland has announced.

The country has spent £27million on issuing small change coppers since 2001, minting the coins at three times the rate of the rest of the eurozone.

The move to do away with them comes after a successful trial in one Irish town where 85 percent of consumers and 100 percent of retailers wanted to see the rounding scheme rolled out on a national level.

Rounding will be conducted on a voluntary basis and the 1 cent and 2 cent coins will remain legal tender.

The total amount of any bill will be rounded down or up to the nearest 5 cent.

This would only apply to cash payments.

Ireland is the latest country to adopt a rounding policy; Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, The Netherlands and Sweden already do so.

Ronnie O’Toole, from the Central Bank or Ireland, said: “The reaction so far to rounding has been fantastic.

“As a country we are good at making changes like this. We migrated to the euro ahead of most other countries, and the indications so far are that consumers and retailers alike will embrace rounding.”

Showing that the move could save the Irish mint (and ultimately taxpayers) money, the Central Bank of Ireland said a 1 cent coin costs more to make than its face value, at 1.65 cents to produce. A 2 cent coin costs 1.94 cents to produce, it added.

Anthony Doyle, investment director at M&G Investments, said: “One and two penny coins probably should be cut from circulation.

“From an economic perspective, inflation has cut into the purchasing power of the coins and there is a cost in producing them.

“However this is now cheaper given the fall in steel prices – 1p and 2p coins are copper-plated steel.

“Given the current retail environment, competitive pressures among the major retailers could mean prices fall if cash payments are rounded down to the nearest 5p at the till.

“It could even improve UK productivity, as paying for items becomes quicker and less time is dedicated to counting loose change.”

However, it could take a while for the coins to drop out of the system, however, with many copper cent coins presumed to be hoarded in piggy banks and jam jars. As of 12 June 2015, 1,096,853,216 two cent coins have been issued into circulation in Ireland, amounting to €21,937,064.32 euros.

Meanwhile, 1,384,491,236 one cent coins have been issued into circulation in Ireland amounting to 13,844,912.36 euros.