Oh what a difference eight years makes
From tomorrow Ireland will take the helm of European Affairs for the sixth time.
Eight years ago, Mr Roche points out, there were only 4.2 million visitors to Ireland, compared to the seven million now arriving annually.
And, he says, the political entourage that will jet in and out of Ireland is sure to notice the increase in traffic on Irish roads with the number of new cars having risen by almost 20% from 1996 to 130,887 in 2002.
Irish workers’ weekly wages have also changed since 1996, when the average hourly wage for a skilled worker was 9.42, compared to 17.38 last year.
House prices have soared with the average price for a house in Dublin now almost 300,000, while a similar house outside Dublin costs almost 200,000. The 1996 average was 89,000 for Dublin and 74,000 outside Dublin.
Drinkers are having to dig deeper in their pockets to come up with the 3.90 for a pint of stout that would have only set them back around 2.80 eight years ago.
Mr Roche points out that news in 1996 was dominated by the BSE crisis in the beef industry with prices collapsing as consumer confidence hit rock bottom.
During the same year, the first step toward banning smoking in public places was taken when cinemas outlawed the habit.
In the US, Bill Clinton was re-elected president for a second term while his special envoy, Senator George Mitchell, chaired talks in the Northern Ireland peace process.
During the same year Teilifís na Gaeilge (now TG4) was launched while “Girl Power” took over the airways with “Wannabe” storming the charts - making the Spice Girls the biggest-selling artists of 1996.
It was the year that Ireland won the Eurovision yet again when Eimear Quinn struck the right note when she sang “The Voice”.
Mr Roche notes that 1996 was also the year RTÉ’s Fair City featured the first every gay kiss in Irish television history, as a more liberal Ireland continued to take shape.
It was the year that Michelle Smith became the golden girl of Irish sport with her Olympic win of three gold medals and one bronze. Her achievement was tarnished three years later when she was found to have tampered with a urine sample.
Closer to home, Wexford celebrated their first All Ireland hurling win in 26 years while Meath went home with the Sam Maguire, and the Ford Ka drove away with Car of the Year.
