Ahern to serve one day past resignation

BERTIE AHERN will stay on as Taoiseach for one day after tendering his resignation, because a logistical problem means Brian Cowen cannot be voted into office until the following day.

Mr Ahern will begin his last full week of official Dáil business today, when he takes part in leaders’ questions. Tomorrow will mark Mr Ahern’s final head-to-head with Fine Gael’s Enda Kenny and Labour’s Eamon Gilmore, when he sits through leaders’ questions as Taoiseach for one last time.

He will travel to Washington to address the joint houses of Congress on Wednesday, April 30.

On his return, he will go to Áras an Uachtaráin on Tuesday, May 6, to tender his resignation to President Mary McAleese.

The Dáil will not sit on that Tuesday, because it comes after a bank holiday Monday. This means Finance Minister Brian Cowen will have to wait until the next day before he can be elected taoiseach.

Instead of leaving the country without a leader for a day, Mr Ahern’s resignation will not “kick in” until Mr Cowen steps into his shoes the next day, a government spokesperson said.

“He will tender his resignation and continue his duties until the next taoiseach is appointed.”

Under the constitution, the country cannot be without a taoiseach, so Mr Ahern must stay in office until his successor is appointed in a Dáil vote.

Mr Ahern will occupy his last full week as leader in the country by meeting with family members of the Bray firefighters who were killed in a blaze while on duty last September.

The Taoiseach will travel to Donegal on Friday to attend a fundraising dinner for Alan Doherty, 17, from Letterkenny who underwent chin-reconstruction surgery in a New York Hospital.

In an interview with Sky News on Sunday, Mr Ahern said he was considering his future and that he has “a lot of options”.