THE Margin early morning bird reports on interesting comments by Finance Minister Ruairi Quinn to an audience of Dublin Institute of Technology students at a breakfast meeting yesterday. Ruairi, in an off-the-cuff script on the subject of the new single currency, showed his background as an ex-Blackrock College rugby player by making a number of sporty references to the EMU project.

The stability pact was like a yellow card to try to stop countries going offside with their Budgetary targets, while the ultimate sanction was a fine - or red card. Mr Quinn might have referred to the maul getting under way on who will be members of the first group moving to EMU, which looks, to mix a few sporting metaphors, as if it could involve a bit of ground-hurling. Or even be a game of two halves.