ONE and two cent coins could soon be a thing of the past in Ireland – as the Government looks set to trial a nationwide scheme to remove them from circulation.
Following a successful trial of the scheme in Wexford, the rest of the country may follow suit now, as Ireland aims to become the sixth EU country to remove the coins from its currency.
Controversially, one and two cent coins actually cost more to mint than they are worth as currency, which was the main reason behind the move.
Countries such as Finland and the Netherlands have already opted out of producing the coins for general circulation.
If Ireland goes ahead with the proposal to scrap the coins, it will most likely follow the Finnish and Dutch method of rounding prices up or down to the nearest five cent.
The success of the Wexford trial has prompted the nationwide rollout – with an 85 per cent approval rating among consumers and 100 per cent approval among retailers.
Though businesses will not be forced to sign up to the new scheme, it is expected the overall number of one and two cent coins will drop dramatically once it kicks off.
The scheme will be brought before the Dáil on June 16.
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