An Ireland with great potential but still facing significant challenges in the lead-in to the new millennium was portrayed in the House.
Contributing to statements on the millennium, Mr John Dardis (PD), deputy Government leader in the Upper Chamber, said we had much to be proud of as we faced into another great calendar cycle.
"Most of all we celebrate the silence of the guns and bombs on this island. We celebrate our diversity and our rich blend of traditions and our shared history. We celebrate the dawn of new understanding and mutual respect."
Mr Dardis said he earnestly hoped that these changes in relationships would stand as a beacon and would illuminate our history a thousand years from now.
Still on a futuristic theme, he said humanity might discover new life in the coming millennium. It was likely that within that span of time we would have voyaged to places as yet unseen and unimagined, and that we would have settled well beyond our own planet.
He hoped that even with such extraordinary developments, the retention of our common bond of humanity would be something that we could look back on.
Mr Maurice Manning (FG) said it was a matter of great heart that as we came to the end of the millennium the concept of parliament was finally asserting its total supremacy in the whole island.
Irish parliamentarians of previous generations, especially those who had influenced our affairs from the 1880s to 1918, were deserving of our gratitude for helping to sow the seeds of a democratic tradition. There should be a memorial to them in Leinster House.
Great men such as W.T. Cosgrave had played important roles in evolving our democracy, said Mr Manning. In this context, he believed that Eamon de Valera was being harshly treated by history today.
Mr Joe O'Toole (Ind) said that although there had been a move from political violence to peace, we now had the most violent society in our history in terms of murders and attacks and of the safety of people who were vulnerable.
Despite our prosperity we had never had such division between the haves and the have-nots.