The people voted "no" to Nice, but they appear to be embracing the euro enthusiastically. After just a few days - which passed with remarkably little fuss - the new currency has become part of our daily lives.
It will be some time before we become fully accustomed to it and can look at a price tag without mentally converting it into pounds. However the changeover has so far been remarkably painless, both here and, generally speaking, in the other 11 euro member states. It is quite staggering to realise that by this weekend 80 to 90 per cent of transactions in the Republic will be in the new currency.
The efficiency of the changeover reflects well on the preparations, overseen here by the Euro Changeover Board, the Central Bank and others. It also shows a remarkable adaptability by the public and by the many thousands of people working in banks, shops, public houses and other outlets, who have been at the forefront of the changeover.
So far, at least, there is little enough sign that those supplying goods or services are profiteering from the changeover through increasing prices. Certainly the price of basic commodities appears not to have changed, although some of those supplying services or goods not subject to the same competition may have more readily increased prices. The European Central Bank is confident that the changeover will not push up the overall level of euro zone inflation. Its president, Mr Wim Duisenberg, pointed out yesterday that the price he paid for a McDonalds hamburger and milkshake in Frankfurt was an exact conversion of the pre-euro price.
The launch of the euro notes and coins has also put a sharp focus on the performance of the currency on the financial markets. It has performed weakly against other currencies and the arrival of the notes and coins will not in themselves change this. Instead, the euro's long-term performance will reflect the strength of the member economies. Brief gains by the currency on the markets on Wednesday had been reversed by yesterday evening.
The arrival of the euro will also put other issues on the agenda. Its has already re-ignited the debate in Britain about membership. It has also raised the wider issue of the direction of the union. If there is a single currency, does this inevitably presage ever closer economic and political links in the years ahead? This question remains to be answered in the review of the EU's future which will get underway this year, as agreed by the recent Laaken summit.
It is very much in Ireland's interest that the euro zone does indeed develop into a stable currency area of steady growth and low inflation. The welcome to the euro suggests a public confidence that the new currency is a positive development and that our economic future rests with the EU. However the rejection of the Nice Treaty clearly showed that there are other aspects of the planned future of the Union which have yet to secure public acceptance.As talks on the Union's future gather fresh impetus, this Government - and more particularly whichever government takes power after the election - has much work to do in developing a clear position on the issues involved and winning public support for it.