No-one could ever accuse the Irish Stock Exchange of reckless innovation. Having been a central feature of an economy which has essentially recovered from the dark days of the 1970s and 1980s on the back of technology-based investment from abroad nurturing a dynamic domestic technology sector, one might have thought the Exchange would have been one of the first to spot the potential of a technology market. But no, it was content to wait on the sidelines while Irish companies took largely symbolic listings on the main Dublin market and did the bulk of their business on the Nasdaq in New York.

Even when the Germans tried to steal a march with their brash Neuer Markt, it saw little cause for concern, insisting it was maintaining a watching brief . . . watching what is unclear, as it does not seem to have been the interests of the countless companies in Silicon Glen looking for investors.

Only now that it has become evident that Irish companies are adopting a more professional approach to listing and avoiding the cumbersome and tech-unfriendly Irish market in favour of foreign markets is the Exchange reacting. With the Neuer Markt now identified as the core European exchange for technology companies, it seems it may again have missed its opportunity. Of course, it is hardly helped by an onerous stamp-duty.