Commissioner Pat Byrne describes July 1996 as a "rather difficult time" to be taking over as Garda Commissioner. It was the aftermath of the murders of Det Garda Jerry McCabe and journalist Veronica Guerin, and the IRA bombing of Manchester.
The effectiveness of the Garda as a police force was being questioned. Crime levels were at an all-time high and public confidence appeared at an all-time low.
The two years since then have transformed the criminal justice system. "What was quite obvious to everyone in terms of the Veronica Guerin murder was that we were resourced quite adequately in terms of finance as a result," Mr Byrne says, "and also the added bonus we had been looking for some time was the legislation which was enacted, very much complementing what we could do."
One of the first additional measures he called for was a revision of the right to silence to allow courts to draw an inference from the silence of a suspect in custody. It is still a desirable option, he says, but one which will prove controversial.
"In certain crimes, and I'm talking about very serious crimes, I don't think it's acceptable that a person who is a suspect, not just a suspect, but a suspect based on a lot of information, can sit and refuse to answer questions."
The level of reported crime was down 10 per cent last year and a further 10 per cent in the first six months of 1998. A new priority, with falling crime levels, will be the whole area of traffic-management, he says. "Hard decisions" need to be made about reducing the alcohol limit. "The whole question has to be raised that if you drink, should you drive at all?
"What I'm concerned about is the attitude of people. With all the cars parked outside pubs at night, you have to ask yourself are they just having one pint or two pints and then driving home?" The high number of arrests for drink-driving so far this year is a reason for concern. "We must continue to emphasise the unsocial aspect and the criminal aspect of drinking and driving." The sense of public panic in 1996 added impetus to a restructuring of the force, which was already under way. Control was reorganised on a regional basis, rather than centralised in Dublin and branches at headquarters were amalgamated to improve operational efficiency.
"This allowed for the Assistant Commissioner in charge of crime and security to be in charge of all specialist units, both on the crime side and the paramilitary side, and also in charge of all the intelligence units," Mr Byrne says. The force became "more cohesive in terms of control and more devolved in terms of operations".
The Dublin Central Detective Unit and the Crime Investigation Unit were given a national remit and the decision was made to introduce "high-visibility" policing, the most high-profile being Operation Dochas, which began in October 1996.
"People have criticised this force, but the prisons are full, the courts system is log-jammed and it's my people who are putting them there. Not that we can't do more, but the criminal justice system is not just policing alone, it's the judicial side and it's the prisons side."
Mr Byrne insists high visibility is more than just good public relations. "Everybody wants a guard on the beat and I can understand that, but I can't put a guard on everybody's street." The move has been expensive. "I spent last year £43 million on overtime. The year before I spent £37 million. Most of that went into high-visibility policing and the hours worked by the units provided the results for me in terms of major investigations."
Garda management will review the overtime budget and "the consequences of it" at the end of the month. Mr Byrne is expected to request a top-up for this year's allocation of £27 million.
The paramilitary landscape has also been transformed since his appointment, with the signing of the Belfast Agreement and the emergence of new terrorist organisations. "We still have a responsibility to deal with those people who are not part of the cessation of violence or ceasefires and our main target, at this particular time, are those dissident groups calling themselves the Real IRA.
"What has happened has been along the line of what we thought would happen, in that you've had a certain amount of splintering and involvement groups such as Continuity IRA and INLA, and we're dealing with those groups at the moment.
"What's going to happen in the future I'm not too sure; there are certain people who will find it very difficult to get away from the physical force tradition, but the resources of this police force will be utilised very much in thwarting whatever it is they want to do."
Responding to the news of a ceasefire by the Loyalist Volunteer Force, Mr Byrne takes a pragmatic view. "It that's what's going to happen - excellent - we'll all welcome it, but let's see what happens in the next couple of days, and we have to take it from there. But the main focus with us is what's happening in the republican groups."
On the issue of the bruising Garda pay dispute and future changes to working practices in the force under the strategic management initiative, Mr Byrne is optimistic that the worst is behind them.
"That's over and done with. I don't think we're ever going to see a blue flu day again. I knew the catchphrase would stick. I'm sorry it happened and I think a lot of members of the Garda Siochana are also very sorry it happened. Why it happened is another day's work. The blame lies in a number of areas."
Under the initiative, there will be a "greater degree of flexibility", he says, and there should be more gardai on operational duties.