Now you see it, now you don't. The vision of a new paper mill in Ireland seems to have dulled a bit at Jefferson Smurfit Group. "We are long in paper in Europe," finance director Mr Ray Curran explained.

But all is not lost. Smurfit reckons that waste paper will be plentiful in Ireland in years to come, and, with no processing facility, prices should be low.

Always on the look-out for a bargain, these low prices could yet encourage Smurfit to build a waste paper mill in Ireland after all. But not just yet, it seems.