Any government is entitled to call a referendum on anything it chooses. The difference in Ireland is that if any legislation looks like it might affect the constitution etc, there has to be a referendum, whatever the government thinks.

I'm all for being able to move around freely and have the right to live where you like and work where you like, and so forth, and I'm happy for that to include places like Poland and especially the Czech Republic where they make brilliant beer. And the only reason I'd have any wish to "save the pound" would be that I like going to "pound shops", and the range of goods that could be got for a smaller unit like the euro would be a lot more restricted.

Most of the time I use plastic anyway, for anything over a couple of pounds, and so long as that worked everywhere, and there were cashpoints to give me drinking currency, I couldn't care less what the actual currency was. Cowries would be fine for me.

So when they get this referendum in the UK it'll be about quite the least interesting or crucial aspect of the European project. Ireland's accepted the idea of the euro as currency, no sweat. The referendum last week was about more significant aspects, and noone's going to consult us in England about those.

(And yes, Gervase, that was my letter in the Guardian - the main point of which was to point out that there'd also been a referendum on capital punishment, and the Irish voters has come out overwhelmingly against the death penalty, which is one in the eye for the patronising chattering classes of England.)