Here's an story to raise a titter with the credit unions, whose profile has been raised by their recent points victory over the Minister for Finance. Man walking in the Wicklow countryside comes across a shepherd with a huge flock of sheep. Man tells shepherd, "I'm a gambling man. I'll bet you £100 against one of your sheep that I can tell you the exact number in this flock?"

It's a big flock, so the shepherd takes the bet. "892", says the man. The shepherd is astonished, for that is exactly right. "I'm a man of my word, take an animal." Man, after a careful selection, picks one up and walks away. "Wait," cries the shepherd. "Give me a chance to break even. Double or nothing that I can guess your exact occupation." Man agrees. "You are a statistician with the Department of Finance and have recently been advising the Minister on policy options with respect to credit union taxation," says the shepherd. "Remarkable. Exactly right. But how did you deduce that?" "Well," said the shepherd, "put down my dog and I'll tell you."