Taoiseach Bertie Ahern

The great day of hope has dawned The following is an abridged version of the address by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to a Joint Meeting of the United States Congress, Washington DC, yesterday. Your invitation to address this Joint Meeting this morning honours my country and honours me also. It reaffirms the enduring bonds of friendship and esteem between our two peoples and between our two republics. Those bonds have been built and nurtured and refreshed over the centuries. America and Ireland have something that goes beyond a friendship between countries. To be an Irishman among Americans is to be at home. So, Madam Speaker, ... Read Full Story

Ah Bertie - Bertie . Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is to step down, after speculation about his financial dealings . Now I've had the pleasure of meeting Bertie on a number of occasions and he has always been a fine representative of his country and a true architect of Ireland's economic prosperity . A solid north Dubliner, he may have had one or two financial dealings and one or two romantic adventures but so what ? He's a Glasgow Celtic supporter and that's a mark against him but nobody's perfect . The world is a poorer place for driving capable, street-wise, flexible, talented politicians ... Read Full Story

Today's Irish Times poll suggests that the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is suffering in personal popularity from the constant scrutiny of the tribunals and the media into his tax and financial affairs. Nevetheless, a plurality of voters think he should stay in office, and support for the governing parties has actually risen despite the story dominating the news for weeks. Unlike Peter Hain, whom nobody suggests has gained personally from any of his late-declared donations to his deputy leadership campaign, Bertie received an envelope stuffed with £8000 worth of £50 notes from friendly businessmen to help pay legal bills, which he regarded as 'no big ... Read Full Story

News that the Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern is to step down will surprise nobody who has been following the convoluted tribunal investigations into the Taoiseach's murky financial affairs, and many in his Fianna Fail party probably think his resignation should have come sooner; hopefully, after May 6th, Brian Cowen can restore some semblance of purpose to the coalition government. Bertie presided over the good times for the Celtic Tiger, but failed to make the necessary improvements in health and education that the largesse of the boom years allowed; now Ireland is facing the economic chill that has affected the US and Europe. Yet ... Read Full Story

Fianna Fail screwing the electorate From todays Indo and written by DANIEL MCCONNELL WE ARE now in a full-blown property crash, with new house sales down 4 per cent, second hand sales down between 15-20 per cent since the start of the year, house repossessions soaring and the government doing nothing to stop it. To say that our government are doing nothing is misleading. Our government headed by a conniving galoot called Bertie Ahern are flat out telling lies and trying to shift the blame for their ineptitude from one to the other and all round the house and back again. The long-time foreseen ... Read Full Story