The Northern Ireland Assembly has overwhelmingly rejected a motion calling for the euro to be officially recognised as a second currency alongside sterling in the North.

During the first Assembly debate on the single currency, Ms Jane Morrice, deputy speaker of the Assembly, proposed a motion calling on the UK government to make the necessary legal and financial arrangements for the euro to be granted dual currency status.

Although many of the North's political parties welcomed the opportunity to debate the euro, few supported the proposal that a dual currency arrangement would provide a compromise solution to the single currency issue in Northern Ireland.

Ms Morrice, a former head of the European Commission Office in Belfast, said Northern Ireland would be in a unique position from January 2001 because it will have a land border with the euro zone. Research shows there is a poor awareness of the euro generally in the North, particularly among small firms.