Had the Bill been brought in five to ten years previously, the Minister would have been a prime candidate for the electric chair because the ideologues would have rained fire, fury and, perhaps, electricity on top of her head. She would never have got away with it. It is amazing how times change. The passing of the Bill in 1999 demonstrated a very significant change in attitudes and a facing up to the realties. Market forces had changed and conditions had brought about the globalisation of markets and the unstoppable move towards liberalisation, which applied equally in the public and private sectors. That historic Bill introduced competition to the industry for the first time and provided a regulatory framework to oversee and manage competition. It was the most important legislation in regard to the electricity industry since the establishment of the ESB under the Electricity (Supply) Act of 1927.