The Margin was interested to read the results of a Small Firms Association (SFA) survey on Y2K which found that 71 per cent of small firms could face temporary closure because they have no contingency plans in place in case their own or their suppliers' systems fail as a result of the Millennium Bug.

The survey was accompanied by some acute observations by SFA chairman Mr Kieran Crowley.

One mixed metaphor in particular caught The Margin's eye. Mr Crowley said if action wasn't taken then "the doomsday scenario of company closures and job losses will become a reality in less than six months. Just like the Titanic, Y2K could be the iceberg on which the Celtic Tiger flounders!"