THERE seemed to be a conspiracy to stifle debate on the single currency, according to Fianna Fail spokesman on justice, Mr Willie O'Dea. The State "must not be sleepwalked into joining the EMU", he said in a statement yesterday.

If Britain stayed out of EMU, the implications for Ireland would be profound, according to Mr O'Dea, who said his statement was not made on behalf of the party. The relationship between sterling and the euro was likely to be volatile, he warned, and "no other potential member of the EMU will be exposed to such currency volatility against its major trading partner".