As many wrestle with converting the euro, our legal eagles, it would seem, have no such worries. At a recent sitting of the Dail Committee of Public Accounts, the DPP's accounting officer, Simon O'Leary, said any lawyers' fees more than 5,000 guineas had to be referred to the Department of Finance.
This was too good for Pat Rabbitte to miss: "Will the introduction of the euro have any effect on the guinea and do away with it?" Not in the least deterred, O'Leary declared, amid laughter: "The guinea is very resilient."
Rabitte then pondered: "How many euros are there to the guinea?" Good question. Certainly more than to the Irish pound. One for the lawyers perhaps.