Her memory is absolutely correct. The boom started with John Bruton. And John Hume brought about peace in Northern Ireland, with help from Albert Reynolds.

Ahern took the photo-opportunities – after all the hard work behind the scenes was completed by the professionals.

Bertie Ahern, when challenged about his convoluted finances, (he was Minister Of Finance at the time) stated that some of the “bungs” he got was to pay Stamp Duty on his Rented House!

It tells one all one has to know about the competence of this absurd person. And it was during his tenure as Minister, that the whole issue of Stamp Duty was defined.

The man is incapable of functioning without his prepared notes; speeches; €300 weekly cosmetic makeover; helicopter; Gulf Stream jet & all the props that disguise his incompetence.

And, Fiona Price also raised the issue of Ahern’s proposed visit to the United States of America (at the taxpayers’ expense, again) to read a prepared paper to Congress.

As a disgraced former PM, he should send an apology to all the Irish people in the USA that he has let down by his crass behaviour and, if indeed any address is really necessary, or of value to the economy of Ireland , allow a TD of stature and probity to carry out the address.

As for evading his responsibilities as a public servant, and not having Mahon on his back into old age, like his mentor, the late unlamented Don Charleone of Abbeville, that is up to HIM, not Mahon.

Just tell them the truth; retire and watch football over a pint of imported English beer. Maybe take a part time job with the beards & sandals in the Movement.

But, Bertie, whatever you decide to do, don’t even begin to think of going to the EU.

They have enough problems of their own, with MEP’s fiddling their expenses; trade unions supporters disrupting the economy & driving up inflation; and the likes of Marylou (SF) – as an apologist for the murderous activities of her associates in the IRA.

I think it would be a no-brainer if someone of the Ahern clan was there to move in – like what happened upon the death of Brian Lenihan Sr. with his namesake son.

Even if there was an obvious heir in the constituency – with neither Brady nor Fitzpatrick can be described as. I do think that’s what Royston was supposed to be back in 2004 but that didn’t work.

Now it has to be asked – how much of the vote in DC is his, and how much is Fianna Fáil’s… also, can Ahern talk those who vote for him alone into trusting someone else or get his magic to rub off on a successor in a short space of time?

They might feel that rather than trying to rush a successor through the ranks – and ramming that down DC’s throat – it might be better to spend the next 2 years or so bumping up the profile of someone slowly and ingraining them in the constituency’s subconscious by having them at Bertie’s arm at every event.

I think the real motivating factor will be whether Bertie has somewhere to go next or not – I’m sure he’s not short of job offers but what he’ll be looking for is the right one, not the first one.

What he will most likely do is spend the time necessary to pass the torch of St. Lukes onto someone else and ensure that come the next election it will be a safe two seats for FF as it was before.

It’s not the media’s fault that there are inconsistencies and it’s their job to report on them – saying that the media is to blame for Ahern’s troubles is like saying a history book is to blame for Hitler’s hatred of the Jews.

@Adam and Andrew I think that blaming the media is a little bit rich. There were three versions presented at different times to explain the money. It was within his gift to get the full explanation out at the start in private and be done with it. Media that dont pull the threads are of little use (unless your Mugabe).

The whole sorry mess that is Irish politics had its roots in the “Bung”.

Haughey; Lawlor; Burke; Ellis – & god knows how many others – have gone criminal as a consequence of the greed of Property Speculators, and those who would try to corrupt in order to obtain planning permissions and other favours.

There will never be an end to corruption until the cancer of the “Bung” is excised.

Apart from the morality of the entire, it would save the overburdened taxpayers of Ireland a fortune by ending the waste on the bloated legal fees that keep the wheels of the endless Tribunals turning.

The politician who can stand up & say that Political Bungs are to end, should win the next election.