Recessions and crises always evoke ostensibly alluring panaceas and leaving the euro is one that has gained currency in Ireland but it remains the preserve of the wackier end of the spectrum. There are always examples to support an argument for devaluation but what a commodity producer could gain in the short-term may have little relevance to an economy like Ireland's, where export trade is dominated by foreign firms and the majority of exports are between units of the same company. Besides, a striking aspect of the advocacy is that the fallout from the inevitable panic and economic dislocation that would be triggered by an exit, is never seriously addressed. In the absence of the devaluation tool, it can of course seem like the Eagles' famous 1977 hit: "Hotel California" - - "You can check out any time you like/But you can never leave!"