National Standards Authority 20 years laying down law

Tiger Woods won his first US Masters; Bertie Ahern was due to become taoiseach; khaki cargo pants were all the rage; and American pop brothers Hanson were about to unleash their debut single on an unsuspecting world.

The year was 1997, and the National Standards Authority of Ireland had just begun setting standards. Since then it has published more than 23,000 standards covering healthcare, construction, food, technology and the environment.

It has also inspected and verified more than 240,000 trade-measuring instruments, including supermarket scales, petrol pumps, and taximeters to ensure that consumers get what they pay for.