It's hard to think a whole year has passed. Last year at this time we were all full of millennium hype, a giant step into the unknown, new beginnings and all that sort of thing, and yet for most of us it has been a year like any other with a mixed bag of the usual good, bad and ugly.

In hindsight it can be said we got the millennium more right than did our neighbours.

Seamus Brennan's candles struck the right note and avoided the overruns, cock-ups and sheer political embarrassment the Dome brought its progenitors. By this stage it would need DNA testing to find the true father of that particular project, and what an irony that it all ends up in the hands of Irish property developers. Cool Britannia indeed!

Nervousness rather than hype characterises the entry to 2001. Many people, including at times Drapier, thought we would have an election in 2000. The feeling was that the fall-out from the tribunals would destabilise the PDs.

But the tribunals, like the mills of God, grind slowly, and even if we did have some spectacular stuff featuring, especially Frank Dunlop and Liam Lawlor, and of course Charles Haughey, no serious blows were landed. On reflection - serious, yes, but not knock-out.

These were hairy moments for the Government. Bertie Ahern's low point was undoubtedly the South Tipperary by-election. It confirmed what many Fianna Fail people are saying privately: Bertie's popularity is not translating into votes on the ground and shows no signs of so doing.

There were moments in June when the Government was on the ropes, but then came the earlier and longer recess, and as Drapier predicted at the time, the Opposition ran out of steam, the Government regrouped and came through the autumn session a little battered, but certainly stronger than in June.

This was helped by the curious failure of the Opposition to take off. This may be a permanent feature or it may be the way things always are. RTE's Gerry Barry often makes the point that the current leader of the Opposition is invariably "the worst ever" leader of the Opposition. Jack Lynch, Liam Cosgrave, Charlie Haughey were all at various stages so described. It goes with the territory.

Nonetheless the perceived failures of John Bruton and Ruairi Quinn to make significant inroads is worrying for them and their supporters. Is it personality, is it the wrong person in the wrong place or is it simply in the nature of things that people have yet to make up their minds as to how they will vote in an election?

Only a fool would rush to judgment at this point. The present climate is not an easy one in which to make predictions, largely because as a people we are changing, and changing rapidly. We have unprecedented affluence, and yet there is a sourness and aggression in the public mood which was never there before.

Our leaders have puffed themselves up, extolling their part in creating the Celtic Tiger only to find little thanks, a barrage of unfulfilled expectations demanding instant gratification and all too often a breakdown of communal solidarity. In some respects it has become a dog-eat-dog society, and it shows no sign of improving.

Add to all that the chronic breakdown of ordinary services - transport, taxis, parking, unaffordable house prices, expensive and scarce rental and a host of strikes, even with the PPF. Throw in the happenings at Flood and Moriarty, the BSE threat and the antics of one or two junior ministers, and who would be bold enough to hazard a guess as to how any electorate will vote come the big day? Or indeed if they will bother at all.

So as things stand Drapier is inclined to take Bertie Ahern at his word when he says this Dail will run the full distance. The Independents are rock-solid, the PDs less so, but have no obvious or palatable alternative and Fianna Fail are in no mood to see if Tipperary South was an aberration or a foretaste of things to come.

Drapier was wrong last year, and the only thing which tempers his prediction is the oldest rule of all in politics. The unexpected does happen and, if this is not a tautology, usually when least expected.

Next to the real business: Drapier's annual awards. As usual Drapier will start with the supporting awards and this year introduces a new category, Best Committee Chairman.

It is indicative of the way things have changed in here that the committees have finally found their feet and are starting to make a real impact. Drapier has always argued that a committee will be as good or as bad as the person who chairs it. The chair is the person who sets the agenda, drives the issues, enthuses the members and gets the work done.

By these criteria we have few bad chairmen and some particularly good ones. Bernard Durkan in European Affairs is one such, as is Batt O'Keeffe in Health and Children, but the prize this year goes to Sean Doherty as chair of Public Enterprise and Transport, especially for the way it handled CIE and the old question of Shannon flooding.

Next to Backbencher of the Year. Drapier is going to cheat slightly on this mainly because the winner fits into many categories. It's not easy to put Des O'Malley into a category. The nearest equivalent Drapier can find is to describe him as the Edward Heath of Leinster House. When he stands up to speak his own side has more reason to feel nervous than the Opposition.

Dessie is enjoying himself, making full use of his wealth of political experience, ever vigilant when it comes to spotting dodgy legislation or deliberate obfuscation, sharp and fearless in speaking his mind and with that touch of crankiness which makes him so unpredictable. He is an invaluable asset to any parliament and a worthy choice as Backbencher of the Year.

Moving to the Upper House where it was a solid rather than spectacular year. Drapier noted some impressive performances from Maurice Hayes on Northern Ireland and media matters, Jim Gibbons on environmental matters, Paul Coghlan on trade and industry, Shane Ross ever vigilant on finance, Joe Costello covering a range of areas, Tom FitzGerald on fisheries. It was in fact a year of many good performances. But the award goes to Feargal Quinn whose interventions are always constructive and to the point.

Minister of the Year is a difficult one. Few reputations were made, and some took a bit of a tarnishing. The time for promises are long over, but delivery in most cases has been slow - certainly no dominating figure. Brian Cowen was lucky to get out of Health and find his feet in Foreign Affairs. Drapier will not make him an endangered species by saying that, should there be a leadership vacancy, he would romp home. But he would, and strictly on merit.

As for Best Junior Minister, well, in truth no great competition. Ned O'Keeffe and Willie O'Dea were lucky to hold on to their jobs. Liz O'Donnell gets the award for her solid work in development aid, her commitment on Northern Ireland and her generally sure-footed performances, and the flair she brings to her work.

On the Opposition side of the House some of the new people showed signs of consolidating and maturing. Billy Timmons, Simon Coveney, Olivia Mitchell, Denis Naughten and Brian Hayes are all coming along well. Jan O'Sullivan, Willie Penrose and Mary Upton have given good accounts of themselves while Tony Gregory remains the most effective of the Independents.

Among the heavies, Michael Noonan, Ivan Yates and a rejuvenated Alan Dukes made the biggest dents in the Government. Pat Rabbitte remains the best Labour performer, and Eamon Gilmore caught Drapier's eye for his consistently strong and dogged contributions. Drapier has difficulty in deciding on a winner but on balance Alan Dukes's end-of-year performances won it for him.

Finally to the big one, Drapier's Politician of the Year. In a way there was no contest: Jim Mitchell was in a class apart this year. Last year he won the award because of his extraordinary work in transforming the Public Accounts Committee into a real public watch-dog.

This year that work continued, but as the world knows Jim Mitchell operated with a life-threatening illness, showed extraordinary fortitude and humour and exuded an energy few could match.

Jim is now back with us, happily on the road to recovery, full of enthusiasm and ideas for reform, and never once feeling sorry for himself. For the second year in a row he is the merited recipient of Drapier's Politician of the Year award.