Europe's new baby, the euro, arrives in little more than a fortnight and Britain has decided to ignore the birth of the new currency and stick to its pound - at least for the present. The Money Programme (Sunday, BBC 2, 7.30 p.m.) examines the effect this policy will have on jobs, businesses and the man-in-the-street in Britain.
This year the Republic is expected to have the biggest Christmas shopping spree in its history. But can we continue to outpace our European neighbours and will the boom last as other world economies slow down? Money Box (Sunday, Network 2, 10.20 p.m.) reports.
In Ear to the Ground (Tuesday, RTE 1, 8.30 p.m.) David Kavanagh meets David Robinson, a smallholder in Co Meath, who has been hit by the current slump in farm incomes. Unable to make a living from his sheep farm, he now runs a holistic centre with his wife and has built a fishing pond which he stocks with rainbow trout. Those who visit to fish for a day pay an entry fee and are charged for each fish caught.
Wine has become big business in this State, with a 50 per cent increase in consumption over the past three years. Pat Butler in Leargas, Tuesday, RTE 1, 7.30 p.m., looks at the wine trade here and asks if our new-found sophistication is an indication of a cultural change, turning us into continentals.
The last in the current series of Back to the Floor, (BBC 2, Tuesday 9 p.m.) in which Britain's top bosses return to the shopfloor for a week, features Grant Whitaker. Whitaker is the new home moving director of Pickfords, Britain's largest removals firm. Interestingly enough he has never moved a customer in his life.
On Thursday, Top Gear announces its car of the year (BBC 2, 8.30 p.m.). Last year the Ford Puma was the winner, but it's anybody's guess as to which car manufacturer will be getting an early Christmas present this year.
