And if problems do arise on January 1, they will be "more like a nuisance than a catastrophe'', it was announced on Tuesday.

Development, Opportunity and Government Services Minister Terry Lister said Government was tracing all its suppliers to ensure their support equipment have also been passed for the Millennium bug.

Government is also finalising contingency plans in case unforeseen bugs emerge which have not been traced to date to ensure normal service is continued.

Mr. Lister said: "The bottom line is this: Government will have it all finished by the end of the year, and Government will be properly prepared for January 1.

"I have great confidence now that if something goes wrong, it will be more like a nuisance than a catastrophe.'' He said Government last week completed testing of "mission critical systems'' whose failure would cause extreme difficulty.

They included Government's accounting system, the tax system, Police Crime Management and Criminal Intelligence Systems, the Prison management system, Custom's programmes, social assistance and housing allowance systems, and social insurance systems for regulating pension payments.

Much of the work began more than two years ago.

Government has installed almost 500 new computers and packages in the past few months.

Mr. Lister said the airport was Y2K compliant and the docks were progressing well.

The King Edward VII Memorial Hospital was buying extra supplies from on the Island and overseas as a contingency plan in case of any problems.

Patients should be confident the hospital will be well stocked.

Mr. Lister said the original Y2K budget had been exceeded and Government would go to Parliament for approval for the extra spending.

Greg Swan, of the Bermuda Electric Light Company, was seconded to head up Government's Y2K project.

Mr. Swan said Government was working on finalising all contingency plans so that a continuity can be provided if any unforeseen bugs in the software appear.

Development & Opportunity Minister Terry Lister: 'Government will have it all finished by the end of the year.