Governments came and went and the aid budget continued to grow, but there was one issue which overshadowed all debate on development throughout this past year. It was apparent from early in the year, when a new mix of faces and skin colours became noticeable on Dublin streets. The global waves of refugees from the developing world had finally washed up on Ireland.
After a century of involvement by Irish missionaries and aid workers in Africa, the direction of traffic had been reversed. And when it was, our reaction was found sorely wanting.
In Rwanda, volunteers from Goal or Concern thought nothing of working with half a million refugees in a single camp. But the arrival of fewer than 4,000 refugees in Ireland threw our social systems and immigration controls into panic.
Much worse, the generosity of the Irish, so often invoked when Third World charity is discussed, was notably absent. The debate on refugees has focused on numbers, cost, controls and on identifying so-called "genuine refugees".
All this in place of a broader discussion on this state's duty to the developing world, the obligations that go with our new-found "Celtic Tiger" status and international concepts of burden-sharing and resettlement.
None of these issues have really been tackled in a development context. Even some of those who are generous givers to Third World charities seem afflicted by a "them and us" mentality which prevents them from welcoming outsiders to our shores.
Perhaps next year, now that the flow is tapering off, the politicians will tackle these issues and show a leadership that has been lacking up to now.
The election robbed the Dail of its only expert on Africa, the former minister of state for overseas co-operation, Ms Joan Burton. Her legacy in development is secure: an expanding budget, firmly focused on the poorest countries.
It was interesting to see the new British government realign its aid policies in a similar manner later in the year.
Ms Burton's successor, Liz O'Donnell, was an accomplished opposition politician but has yet to make her mark in the development portfolio. The fact that she has to spend so much time at the Northern talks doesn't help.
So far, her availability has been limited; even at her Department's own aid seminar, she left before the head of UNICEF made her address (admittedly, this was at the height of the Ray Burke controversy).
Ms O'Donnell oversaw a £15 million rise in the aid budget this year, bringing the total to £137 million or 0.32 per cent of gross national product. The increase is not as much as some had hoped; it falls well short of the progress needed to meet the Government's stated goal of 0.45 per cent of GNP within five years.
The Minister has continued with her predecessor's policy of targeting most aid on six priority countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Ethiopia gets the most money - almost £10 million next year - but this is still less than half the amount the GAA got to complete Croke Park.
It was a tough year for the agencies. Most managed to maintain the level of donations, but it is becoming more difficult and more expensive to raise money. This makes Trocaire's achievement in raising £2.5 million for North Korea - a disaster which seldom made the television screens - all the more remarkable.
The larger agencies recognised the need for retrenchment and shed office staff. Trocaire drew up new plans to tap the corporate sector for donations, while at Concern Father Aengus Finucane has been fundraising in the US since retiring as chief executive. He was replaced by Mr David Begg, formerly general secretary of the Communications Workers' Union.
But it was Goal which suffered the most, after it became embroiled in an unprecedented row with the Department of Foreign Affairs over the summer. Both the department and the EU cut off their funding of Goal for a time because they were unhappy with the accounts submitted by the agency.
Goal at first counter-attacked with its own claims of unfair treatment but finally backed off from what would have been a David versus Goliath contest. Under an agreement brokered by the Minister, the accountants were allowed in to examine the agency's books and they subsequently made a series of recommendations which have been implemented.
The Department now says Goal is again eligible to apply for funding. The matter is considered closed but the damage caused by such unseemly public squabbling must be considerable.
Earlier in the year, Goal's director, John O'Shea, had led the criticism of Ms Burton for her support of the Rwandan government. The row, brief and pre-electoral as it was, illustrated the minefield that development politics can be.
Plans to make Rwanda a priority country for Irish aid were shelved as the country slid into growing unrest and authoritarianism.
Department officials worked hard to secure Mary Robinson's appointment as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Liz O'Donnell visited her in Geneva last month.
Human rights, one of Ms O'Donnell's special interests, promises to feature prominently next year, with the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights being marked next December.
Trocaire will also be celebrating its 25th anniversary next year, and Concern its 30th.