The ESRI report arrived on one of the shortest days of the year, appropriate perhaps, since there was more of the dark than the light about it. It confirmed what we all knew already, that the Celtic Tiger was no more and that whoever inherits Charlie McCreevy's mantle - and it may even be Charlie himself - faces some difficult and stark decisions in the next Budget.
In a way, the report sets the scene for what will be one of the major issues in the forthcoming election. Just how well did we use the boom, are we all better off, is our infrastructure on the way to meeting our real needs, are we a fairer society or did we fritter much of it away?
Drapier increasingly believes it will be questions of this sort which will determine the outcome of the election. In a way which never happened before in our history, expectations were raised and raised in a way which foresaw no halt, no roadblocks, no difficulties ahead. Tomorrow truly belonged to us - or so the Government continually told us.
And in very many cases the expectations were realised. The supply of Mercedes and Saabs could not meet the demand; restaurants were booked out weeks in advance, dot com millionaires, some of them still in short trousers, filled the social pages and sent house prices through the sky. So clearly there were some real winners.
And at a more modest level many people were genuinely better off. Holiday homes were built and sold at a record level; existing houses were upgraded and foreign holidays became the norm rather than the aspiration.
But now that things have slowed down, will people be grateful for what has been delivered or will they focus in on the daily irritants of traffic, high house prices, defects in the health service, the losses incurred through the Eircom debacle? Will they applaud the unprecedented investment in roads, railways, health services and the like or will they say it's all too little too late and complain about the projected cost of the Bertie Bowl?
If Drapier had the answer to these questions he would be down hot foot to Paddy Power with a sizeable bet, secure in the knowledge that he knew who will win the upcoming election.
But no more than anyone else, he does not have these answers. Nor has he any very clear idea as to how the next election will go. There are too many imponderables, and predictions, even from seasoned observers, vary wildly. One man has Fianna Fβil down eight seats, others see it making gains; estimates as to how Fine Gael will fare vary from four losses to four gains; most people see Labour gaining two or three seats and the PDs losing at least one. The Greens, they say, will gain from one to three new seats while most estimates put Sinn FΘin at three.
But this is all speculation. And until we see the context of the election and see all the runners and riders only a rash person would make any serious prediction.
Meanwhile we finished off the session in the usual messy and unsatisfactory way.
Drapier continues to wonder at the arrogance of Government Departments which suddenly produce legislation in the last week of the session and insist on it going through all stages of both Houses before the recess. Drapier wonders too at the willingness of the Opposition to accept these practices. It is a rotten way to do business and there is no excuse for it. In addition it is frequently out of rushed legislation that later constitutional problems arise.
There was one particular piece of legislation which passed in this way and which deserves further attention. This was the Referendum Bill, which began its life at noon in the Dβil on Friday last, was scheduled for the Seanad for 3.15 p.m. when it would have passed all Stages in the Dβil, eventually made its way to the Seanad by 3.45 p.m. and was on its way to the Park for Presidential signature by 6.00 p.m.
How come, you may well ask, why the hurry? Was there some national emergency, an invasion in Kerry, the collapse of the banking system, an army coup d'Θtat which required such hasty passing of legislation?
Well, not quite, and immediately Drapier and many others became highly suspicious. Alan Shatter, Eamon Gilmore and Olivia Mitchell did their best in the Dβil to find out the reason for the haste and to block its passage as did Maurice Manning, Fintan Coogan and Joe Costello in the Seanad. But all to no avail. Bobby Molloy was Bobby Molloy and the Bill was going through and that was that.
The effect of the Bill is to change the power of the Referendum Commission so that the participants in the upcoming referendums will not receive direct funding. Drapier has no problems with that, but again why the rush, since no date has been fixed for any referendum?
The most usual explanation is that it was designed to help the Yes side in the abortion referendum, since these are the people with no shortage of financial backing, while the anti campaign has no comparable resources.
That at least was the suspicion and it may even be the reality. Or it may not, but the juggernauting of the Bill through both Houses in the dying hours of the session made everybody suspicious and probably with good reason.
S∅le de Valera is probably just as happy the Houses were not sitting this week as more and more begins to emerge about the mess at the Irish Museum of Modern Art. Dinny McGinley has been raising questions of political interference for some time now and while the Minister may not have been intervening personally it is clear she had plenty of acolytes willing to act in her name. It may not be a major issue and will feature in few election manifestos, but the treatment of Marie Donnelly and Dr Brian Kennedy does not read well and if information continues to tumble out then S∅le de Valera may have an uncomfortable time next session.
Another straw in the political wind was the Changing of the Guard at the Irish Farmers' Association. Under John Dillon militancy will be the name of the game.
Tom Parlon did a great deal for the image of farming and was enormously respected by all sides in Leinster House. If John Dillon's record and his speeches are any indicator, then we are all in for a rough time. Or so it would seem.
Finally this week Drapier remembers the late Eoin Ryan. He was every inch the perfect senator - well informed, urbane, fair-minded and even though he came from a Civil War family he was never bitter or sought to exploit Civil War memories. On the contrary he was very much a reconciler. His wise counsel was not much in demand in latter day Fianna Fβil but he was somebody of whom that party should be rightly proud.