THERE was something of a flurry at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development meeting when the fire alarm went off on Monday. And.the man in the hot-seat, so to speak, was Ruairi Quinn, who held the chair and had to announce the need to evacuate.

Word is that the delegates were happy enough to file out in an orderly manner for lunch. Speculation about the cause of the alarm cent red on whether it resulted from a mini-blaze at an adjacent building site or whether one of the delegates was hungry for lunch.