Address by Mr. Noel Treacy T.D., Minister for Science, Technology and Commerce at the SDL 'EURO 2000' Exhibition in the RDS, Main Hall Complex on Tuesday, 1st December 1998

I am delighted to have the opportunity to address this EURO 2000 - The Year 2000 and EURO Currency Solutions Exhibition. These two issues are two of the most important ones, facing Irish Industry as we near the end of the Century. I congratulate SDL and the Organisers of this Event, for raising these issues and affording our Business People, an opportunity to discuss and find solutions for them.

The Problem variously referred to as the Millennium Bug, or Millennium Timebomb, is now well and truly, on the National Business Agenda and is receiving an increasing amount of Media coverage. It is encouraging, that as a consequence of the efforts of the Government and other Bodies, that Business interests seem to have absorbed the message, that this Problem is looming fast. Despite this growing level of Awareness, it is the uncertainty of what exactly will be affected and how, that has given rise to such concern on this complicated Subject.

As far as the Government is concerned, our involvement in this Problem is twofold. Firstly, we have been organising a Campaign to make Business Aware of the Problem and secondly, we have a responsibility to put the Government's own house in order so that the huge range of Public Services provided by the State and its many Agencies, both to Businesses and the Consumer, will be unaffected into the new Millennium.

The critical aspect is Awareness. It was apparent that many Businesses around the Country were unaware of the issues involved. To tackle this Information deficit I established a Year 2000 National Campaign Committee, earlier this year, in order to promote Business Awareness across the Country. This brought together the expertise of a wide range of Representatives in the private and public sector.

The National Committee were responsible for the production of detailed Brochures on this subject and over 100,000 of these Brochures were distributed around the Country to Business Interests. This Document set out to demystify the Problem and indicate the steps which Business should follow to identify the problems in their own Enterprises. It has been our experience that, when the initial foreboding of what is considered a very Technical Subject is overcome and people are prepared to get to grips with the issue, great progress can be made.

To bring the message to as wide an Audience as possible, we organised a series of Conferences and Roadshows at Regional Centres. In addition a National Conference was held in UCD in early September which was addressed by An Taoiseach, Mr Bertie Ahern, T.D., and other imminent International speakers. The Media coverage of that excellent Event has further helped to spread the Awareness message.

I would like to emphasise that the Government cannot solve the Year 2000 Problem for Business. Our role has been to create Awareness of the issue and alert the Business Community to the many aspects of this very complex Problem. Individual Enterprises must get to work to identify the problems in their own organisations and devise solutions. This is primarily a Management issue, just like other Management issues which arise all the time in the running of business.

While many large Organisations have major Year 2000 Programmes underway to address the Millennium Date Problem, our Government is seriously concerned that the Small to Medium Enterprise sector, is not responding as well at it should.

This is borne out by the Results of a Survey of the level of compliance Irish Businesses, undertaken recently by the Irish Computer Society and the Chambers of Commerce in Ireland on my behalf. The Results of the Survey found that 90% of Businesses understood the Business issues regarding the Year 2000 Problem and that over 70% have commenced action in their own Businesses. However, other finding of the Survey show that many Businesses have not completed their inventory of Software and Embedded Systems. Likewise many Businesses had not assessed possible damage to their Businesses from other enterprises in their Supply Chain. Smaller Businesses, in particular, still have a lot of work to do.

As regards Central Government, this Problem is being tackled in several ways to ensure that the huge range of Public Services which the Government provide, will be maintained without interruption. All Government Departments and the Bodies under their aegis have prepared comprehensive Year 2000 Action Plans which identified the extent of Problems and how Systems needed to be changed, altered or upgraded to ensure that their Activities can run smoothly into the next Millennium.

The Threat which this Problem poses is a real one, which, if ignored any longer, by any Business, could have very serious implications for the ability of Companies to continue to operate. Every Organisation in the Country could potentially be affected, from Large Financial Companies with Mainframe Systems, to SMEs with PC-based Systems and even Companies with no Computer Systems at all. I am calling once again on them all to take the necessary Action now, to recognise the need for Contingency Planning particularly to combat the Threat posed by Embedded Chips.

I would now like to turn to the other major issue facing business, the Euro. The Euro's introduction on 1 January 1999 will present new opportunities and challenges for Irish business. In order to avail of these new opportunities Irish companies will need to be fully prepared and have carefully considered the key implications which the introduction of the Euro may have on their businesses.

There is no common response to the Euro that can be adopted by every organisation. Organisations trading in Europe, or with European business partners, may have to transact in Euro at an early stage, for example, once the exchange rates are irrevocably fixed in 1999. Others may not have to switch over until Euro notes and coins are introduced in 2002. Each of these approaches has different business implications, and each will have different impacts on IT systems. To do this effectively, organisations need a Business Strategy for its introduction.

The need for business to prepare strategic plans for the changeover is one of key messages of the EMU Business Awareness Campaign which is being run by Forfás which reports to my Department and aims to provide businesses with the information they need to prepare themselves for the changeover to the Euro. The Campaign has produced an excellent information pack and has circulated it widely, including putting it on the Internet. Given the importance of IT systems for the changeover to the Euro, a working group was set up on this issue and this Summer, Forfás issued a guide on information technology and the Euro. Other documents issued include guides for the retail sector and trade unions and a set of possible actions for companies in relation to sterling. Also of particular relevance is a planning guide aimed at small and medium sized enterprises.

A consultative committee advises on the management of the Forfás campaign. It draws on the expertise from business and trade associations, from professional bodies and agencies that deal directly with business. It provides a channel for distributing information to enterprise and provides feedback on the information needs of business and the issues arising for business in the changeover process.

The work of other development agencies such as Enterprise Ireland, Shannon Development and FÁS will complement that of Forfás with particular emphasis being put on encouraging improvements in the areas of productivity, product development, marketing and the development of human resources. I would urge all those who have not been in contact with these agencies to do so and be in a position to plan ahead now. Special attention is being paid to SMEs which are perceived to have particular needs.

I would say, therefore, that, while there is much that the Government and the various agencies can do in increasing awareness and providing relevant information to businesses, the responsibility for ensuring a successful and effective transition to the Euro rests in individuals and companies hands.

We should not forget that Businesses which are unable to support the Euro may be vulnerable when competing with those that can, in situations where the Euro provides a Business Opportunity or Competitive Advantage. It is possible that Businesses that do not plan, or that react incorrectly, will increasingly find themselves at a competitive disadvantage

For the IT community, the impact of the Euro on Information Technology Systems is complicated by the fact that it occurs in the same timeframe as the 'Year 2000 Problem'. IT strategies for the changeover to the Euro will depend on Business Strategies for its introduction. For example, when will our IT Systems have to process Euro transactions? Will we simply replace our National Currency with the Euro, or will we re-engineer our Financial Applications to do Business in new ways, to establish new Financial Relationships with our Trading Partners, or otherwise achieve productivity or effectiveness benefits? These are clearly Business, and not IT, decisions.

The IT industry can, of course, supply Technical Solutions, but only you can decide on Strategic Business issues, such as dual-pricing, billing and payments in Euro, etc.

There is much Information available on the main issues involved for Irish Businesses as well as the practical steps you should consider when preparing your Business for EMU and the changeover to the Euro. However, it may not be relevant in every respect as the Information needs of individual firms, which will vary depending on size, sector, internal structure, location of activities and so on. Euro 2000, therefore, is an ideal forum where you can openly converse with the experts about your individual needs.

Overall, the Year 2000 and the Euro changeover projects are a major Challenge and an Opportunity for us all to gain Competitive Advantage. They also provide an Opportunity for organisations to review and improve their IT structure and processes and for coming up with new Business arrangements.

I would like you to consider the Year 2000 and Euro issues in a wider framework. As you all know, the Economy is performing remarkably well at present. This Country needs this progress to be maintained without interruption. We are now in the healthy position of steadily reducing Unemployment; of creating very significant Numbers of New Jobs Annually and of having the Government Finances in a very healthy state.

This healthy position must be maintained. We live in a fast changing Business Environment with Global challenges ever-present. We should not be lulled into any false sense of security on the issue of maintaining our Competitiveness. Our Businesses must maintain their flexibility and capacity to do Business and seek out opportunities at all times in order to achieve their full potential in generating Economic Growth and creating Sustainable Employment. With Capital and Investment so mobile, we can never rest from the overriding issue of ensuring that we retain our Competitiveness, which has been such a crucial factor in our Economic well-being.

Your attendance today at this very interesting and comprehensive Exhibition indicates that you have been taking these issues very seriously. I wish you all every success in your deliberations, and in all your future activities.