The Department of Agriculture has given a "cast-iron guarantee" that its IT systems will be Y2K compliant. According to the Department's IT manager, Mr John McCarthy, all headage payments and grants will still come through. The Department's Y2K project started in mid-1997, and headage and premium payment systems are expected to be 80 per cent Y2K complete by the end of January. The 28-strong IT team has been able to incorporate a lot of its Y2K changes into new programs that have had to be written to take account of changes in EU legislation.

The beef intervention system is already deemed compliant, while the accounting and dairy systems are "practically complete". The cattle disease testing system - which is outsourced - is scheduled for completion by the end of April. Organisations reporting to the Department of Agriculture, such as Teagasc, are required to follow strict reporting procedures, and from now on will be making monthly reports on progress.