Sticking with the euro, it will come as no surprise to hear that practical take-up of the new currency in Ireland has been close to zero.

Revenue Commissioners' chairman Dermot Quigley told an audience of small business operators this week that only 0.4 per cent of employers' PAYE/ PRSI and VAT returns were completed in euros last year. The figure for customs returns was 1.6 per cent.

There is a feeling abroad following the Millennium Bug hype that the arrival of the euro will be a similar damp squib. Mr Quigley was quick to point out that a "big bang" approach was likely to lead to accounting bottlenecks and business disruption and he's right.

Again it is a tactile thing. If the currency is here, we'll worry about it; if not, we'll hold off. Such an approach may be understandable but if business continues to be as cavalier, it will pay a heavy price together with staff and customers in the first quarter of next year.