It has been a transforming year, bringing political adjustments along with threatening circumstances. Economic turbulence and political scandal has been over-shadowed by developments in Northern Ireland where the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin were persuaded by Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair to join a powersharing Executive.
The sight of Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness working together in government drew a line under 30 years of communal conflict and promised a new and invigorating departure.
In this new dispensation, the notion of an all-island economy and North/South cooperation has become less threatening to unionists as their financial benefits are assessed. But progress may be slow and uneven. More immediately, issues of paramilitary-linked criminality, social deprivation and public sector dominance remain to be tackled in a politically-edgy climate.
The Northern settlement had a deep impact in this State and helped to maintain Fianna Fáil in office in the general election. When scandal concerning his personal finances threatened to swamp Mr Ahern's election campaign, a series of public engagements celebrating the Northern Ireland achievement helped to steady the ship. Promises of continuing prosperity and economic growth, along with threats of what would happen if opposition parties gained control, did the rest. It turned out to be a close-run thing.
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The general election brought seismic political shifts, involving the revival of Fine Gael, the destruction of the Progressive Democrats and the eclipse of Sinn Féin. But Fianna Fáil endured in office and the Green Party emerged as a new partner in Government. The Labour Party, having failed to benefit from a pre-election pact with Fine Gael, returned to the drawing board. It was a fascinating contest and its effects are still being felt. The leadership of three political parties altered in its aftermath while that of Fianna Fáil became time-limited.
Pat Rabbitte resigned as leader of the Labour Party and was replaced by Eamon Gilmore. Trevor Sargent made way for John Gormley rather than lead the Green Party into government with Fianna Fáil. Michael McDowell lost his seat and Mary Harney took over as temporary leader of the Progressive Democrats. On the Opposition benches, Enda Kenny emerged at the head of a vibrant and assertive party that gained 20 seats and is challenging the new Government in the Dáil.
The aura of a lame-duck Taoiseach intensified around Bertie Ahern because of implausible evidence concerning large payments he received while minister for finance in the 1990s.
Having nominated Brian Cowen as his successor and declared he will not lead Fianna Fáil into the next general election, the "most cunning of them all" can do little but watch his authority diminish. That vulnerability has been compounded by his behaviour before the Mahon tribunal in recent days.
This development may have damning consequences for Mr Ahern. The stories don't add up.
The McCracken, Flood and Moriarty tribunals ruled that politicians should not accept large sums of money because of the implications behind such payments. It is a basic guard against corruption. Yet it happened. And we live with the consequences.
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Corruption has spread its tendrils into public and private life to such an extent that planning and development has become tainted with sleaze; where insider trading on the stock market is viewed as legitimate and where tax evasion by well-to-do citizens became so prevalent - in spite of successive tax amnesties - that the Revenue Commissioners will eventually raise about €2 billion from Ansbacher and bogus account holders and from undeclared off-shore assets.
The official response has been muted. Criminal prosecutions are rare. Only a handful of people will ever see the inside of a jail. This softly-softly approach, in which wealthy individuals may be "named and shamed" and forced to pay tax and financial penalties, does not reflect the seriousness of the offence. Tax fraud is a crime against the State. Recent efforts by the Revenue Commissioners to identify and pursue law-breakers are being successfully challenged in the courts. Like drunk driving, widespread tax evasion will persist until a fear of detection and retribution becomes dominant.
Worsening exchequer returns and a downturn in the economy has made the likelihood of a new national pay agreement more difficult. A benchmarking report for the public service, related to pension values, was expected to undermine the case for pay increases. But the Government abandoned this negotiating advantage by accepting and, subsequently, deferring large pay awards for Ministers. The size of the Taoiseach's pay award appeared to upset voters almost as much as his unconvincing performance before the Mahon tribunal.
As the year ends, the health service remains dysfunctional. Negotiations on a new consultants' contract will enter their fifth year. The scandalously incompetent cancer treatment for women gave way to public outrage over mental care. Nobody resigned.
Ministers give a lead in avoiding responsibility. Public servants follow. The withdrawal of services from Shannon by a freshly-privatised Aer Lingus showed an out-of-touch Government. The handling of provisional driving licences confirmed that perception. A systemic failure to plan ahead has emerged across a range of Government departments and, as we face into 2008 with the fastest growing population in Europe, we can expect more of the same.