As the millennium comes to a close the agencies of the state and business prepare for any year 2000 problem.

Gerry Condon, Y2K programme manager at ESB is optimistic that the turn of the millennium will go smoothly. In the event that anything does go wrong a comprehensive set of contingency plans in place.

If the millennium bug does bite tomorrow, it will hopefully be caught quickly by the experts who serve the national grid here at ESB headquarters.

Seventy five per cent of the country's Gardaí will be on duty at midnight on New Year's Eve and hospitals have also drafted in extra staff for the evening. The Central Bank and other state agencies are confident that their systems are now compliant and will operate successfully into the next century.

The government's Y2K Emergency Coordinating Committee will meet tomorrow at the Department of Finance to monitor the millennium bug situation for twenty four hours. The committee will look closely at how the situation unfolds in New Zealand and Australia where the new millennium kicks off first.

The committee is working with all government departments and public service agencies. If problems arise the public should contact service providers directly.

An RTÉ News report broadcast on 30 December 1999. The reporter is Annette O'Donnell.