Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Question 181: To ask the Minister for Finance the number of counterfeit €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200 and €500 notes that were removed from circulation for each of the years 2003 to date in 2008; if he will provide the information in tabular readable form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46643/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Information on euro banknote counterfeiting is published biannually by the European Central Bank (ECB) in January and July. The following table published by the ECB on 10 July 2008, indicates the half-yearly trend in the number of counterfeits recovered:

Number of Counterfeits

The table shows that the quantity has not varied greatly over recent years. When these figures are compared with the number of genuine euro banknotes in circulation — on average 11.5 billion notes — the quantity of counterfeits is very small. The breakdown of counterfeits by denomination is as follows:

It can be seen that the three mid-range denominations (€20, €50 and €100) together account for about 90% of all counterfeits. As can be seen from the following table, the level of counterfeits discovered in Ireland is broadly in line with the overall figures for the Eurosystem.

Euro banknotes are produced to the highest standards and contain security features which are hard to counterfeit. However, The Central Bank advises the public to be alert and to check the authenticity of the banknotes they receive, particularly at busy times such as the Christmas trading period. Anyone who suspects they may have received a counterfeit should contact the Garda Siochána, giving as many details as possible about the banknote's origin. Further information on the banknote security features is available on the Central Bank's website: www.centralbank.ie.