An army of bankers will this weekend undertake what has been described as the most complicated financial operation in history - the introduction of the euro.

Nearly 50,000, and possibly many more, staff at banks, financial firms and institutions in Europe were expected to work through the weekend. Thousands more are on stand-by.

In Dublin and around the rest of the state, around 2,000 bankers and other staff are likely to be working for at least some part of the weekend. Bank of Ireland will have about 300 staff, mostly information technology personnel, overseeing the change, while AIB will have about 200. Ulster Bank will have a similar number of staff on duty.