Averil Power's exit from Fianna Fáil prompted The Irish Times to revisit her first appearance in the paper. Occasion: the Fianna Fáil ardfheis. Date: November 1998. Era: Bertie (early). So far, so predictable. So why are we dealing with it here?

It’s all rather a long time ago now but reading about that day in the RDS makes us wonder whether anything really changes at all, at least thematically. It wasn’t the report on Power’s “youth, energy and enthusiasm” that jumped out, but the pieces around it on the very same page of the paper.

Consider these headlines: McCreevy warns delegates on pay claims; Cowen warns of limits on money for health; Reduction in Live Register welcomed and Time for FF to take stock, says McDaid. Then there is a plea to "both sides" in the Northern peace deal, a piece on ID cards for young drinkers, special pleading to Brussels (on duty free), a dash of CAP reform and a report on Army deafness.

All of these items are of their time but they are striking nonetheless in their similarity to current themes, as finance minister Charlie McCreevy sought pay moderation, as health minister Brian Cowen said there was no bottomless pit of funding. A report on 40,000 people leaving the Live Register could have been written last week! And Jim McDaid’s demand for Fianna Fáil to take stock – albeit at a happier time for the party and for different reasons – might well have prefigured Power’s remarks on her way out of the party more than 16 years later.

There's enough groundhog moments in all that for a sequel to that Bill Murray movie. Stop the press Bill. Everything has changed. But nothing has changed. "Let us not undo all our good work by fooling ourselves into believing that we can reward ourselves with large increases in pay and still expect to enjoy the benefits of strong growth," said McCreevy. Fancy that.