"In military matters, I know my generals. In foreign affairs, I know my ambassadors. But in economics, I don't know who to trust," General de Gaulle said, when the single European currency was first mooted. As Economic and Monetary Union looms on the horizon, a new three-part series charts EMU's rocky path from the time it emerged as a serious proposition when the US dollar collapsed in 1968. The Money Changers, BBC 2, tomorrow, 8.10 p.m.9.10 p.m.
You can forget PIN numbers the latest ATMs have dispensed with them. Instead, they're using an eye-recognition device to improve security. The much-vaunted iris-recognition system has been fitted to the cash dispenser of a leading building society in Swindon, relying on a camera in the machine to film a customer's eye and match it with an image previously stored on the databank. You'll get your cash only if the two tally, reports Tomorrow's World, BBC 1, Wednesday, 7.30 p.m.8 p.m.
Forestry may be the biggest employer in Co Leitrim, supported by a plethora of EU grants and national incentives, but there is still local opposition to widespread tree-planting. Are there other economic options for a county in which 96 per cent of the land is deemed marginal? Playwright and poet Vincent Woods returns to his native county to disentangle the arguments for and against local forestry, in The Last Resource, RTE 1, Tuesday, 8.30 p.m.9 p.m.
Britain's health service is in a sick state, with false claims and fraud costing millions every year. While waiting lists are growing longer, the government has decided that extra funds need to be funnelled into fraud-busting, Panorama reports, on BBC 1, Monday, 10 p.m.10.40 p.m.
Finally, Home looks at the plight of two couples on the Dublin housing list, who are being put up in "emergency" bed and breakfast accommodation, on Wednesday, RTE 1, 8.30 p.m.9 p.m.
