IRISH companies should prepare now for European Monetary Union (EMU) so that costs are reduced and competitive advantages gained, the Association for the Monetary Union of Europe (AMUE) has said.

At the Dublin launch of their second report, Managing the Changeover to the Single Currency, the association said companies should set up special committees to study EMU and by the middle of next year the training of staff for EMU should have begun.

Dr Stefan Collignon, Director of Research at AMUE, said Irish companies should devote resources and investment into preparing for EMU as Ireland's "special conditions" meant it would qualify for membership.