The arrival of the Euro has received a positive response from Irish businesses, with 93 per cent now saying that the State was right to join the single currency, and more than 50 per cent believing that conversion to the Euro has had a positive overall impact on their business.

According to a survey by Dun and Bradstreet, support in Ireland for joining Economic and Monetary Union has increased from 74 per cent in September, 1998. The trend mirrors the rest of Europe, where 90 per cent of businesses in EMU now support their governments' decision to join the single currency.

In spite of this change, many businesses have been slow to start quoting their prices in Euros. The survey of 2,040 companies in 17 European countries found that in the three months following the introduction of the new currency, only about 20 per cent of Irish businesses were pricing in Euros, below the Euro zone average of 30 per cent.

Significantly though, a majority of companies in Europe (55 per cent) believe that the Euro will never be the world's leading currency with scepticism especially marked in Germany, Austria and Denmark where more than 70 per cent of businesses believe it will not be able to challenge the US dollar. Just under half of Irish businesses think the Euro will never reach the heights of the dollar.

Meanwhile the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, said yesterday there would be no arbitrary time limit for Britain to enter the European single currency, but he wanted to be in a position to put it to a referendum early in the next parliament.

Mr Blair, presenting his Labour party's European election campaign, dismissed speculation that his government was cooling towards the idea of the single currency, still viewed with suspicion by most Britons.