The Tánaiste & Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, has said the euro's record highs against the dollar are having an adverse effect on some Irish firms.
Asked today if he was worried by the euro's current strength, Mr Cowen said: 'It certainly challenges those companies that are trading into dollar markets, in the US particularly.'
Speaking at the American Chamber of Commerce's Thanksgiving business lunch, Mr Cowen added: 'It reinforces the need for us to look into those issues we can influence, that are within our control and to take every step we can to address them in a way that helps enterprise, that helps investment.'
The minister's comments came as the euro hit a fresh record high against the dollar in Asian trade as investors fled from the greenback and shunned risk amid gloomy prospects for the US economy.
The dollar has also been hurt by growing speculation that overseas investors may diversify from the US unit and turn increasingly to the euro.
The euro hit an all-time high of $1.4875 in Tokyo trade from its previous record of $1.4870 reached in New York last night. But the single European currency, created in 1999, later eased to $1.4853 at 7.15pm this evening.
The US central bank earlier this week trimmed back its growth projections citing weakness in housing and tighter credit conditions, which emerged over the summer from a deterioration in the high-risk sub-prime loan market.
The Federal Reserve projected growth next year in a range of 1.8 to 2.5%, down from a prior forecast of 2.5-2.75%.
