People must moderate their expectations to take acount of the economic slowdow, the Minister for Finance has warned.

His comment came as the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said a judgment on the impact on the Irish economy of the world economic downturn and the damage caused by the terrorist attacks in the United States would not be possible to make until the end of next month.

"It is quite frankly too early now. We are going to monitor the situation," said Mr Ahern.

Speaking in Dublin yesterday at the launch of the official euro changeover handbook, Mr McCreevy said people needed to be realistic about current economic conditions.

The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), in its Medium Term Review published yesterday, had predicted a slowdown in the short term but in the medium term, the economy was in a position to grow, Mr McCreevy added.

But he said policies would have to be adapted to the evolving situation, particularly given the Republic's dependence - as an open economy - on trade and positive world conditions.

Mr Ahern pointed out that research for the Central Bank's latest bulletin, published on Thursday, and the ESRI's review, was carried out in advance of the September 11th attacks.

Both reports reaffirmed the positive longer term outlook for the Irish economy. "We are in a healthy position, but both of these are warning us to be careful," said the Taoiseach.

Mr McCreevy said he would prepare this year's Budget in the same way as he has previous budgets. "I assess the situation we have, assess the situation going forward and make my decisions," he added.

On the euro changeover, Mr McCreevy said no minister could give a commitment that some traders would not take advantage of the changeover to increase their profit margins. Familiarity with the new currency was the best assurance that consumers would not be cheated. He appealed to people to complain to shops which over-charged them and they should also complain to the Director of Consumer Affairs.

Mr Philip Hamell, chairman of the Euro Changeover Board of Ireland, said the changeover handbook, compiled at a cost of £1.25 million (€1.59 million), would be sent to every household in Ireland and a simple electronic converter would also be sent to every home, at a cost of around £4 million. The board's most recent national survey showed that 87 per cent of people knew the new currency would be introduced in January; 84 per cent knew the euro was made up of cent; 74 per cent knew that £1 was worth €1.27 and 46 per cent were generally aware of the length of the dual circulation period.