Ahern bows out defending party

NOEL AHERN stood up in the Dáil last night and defended Fianna Fáil to the end. He criticised Labour’s Pat Rabbitte for claiming that Fianna Fáil had brought the country from boom to bust.

Such claims were nonsense, said Mr Ahern. Terrific things had happened in Ireland over the last 20 years, mostly under Fianna Fáil’s watch. Unsurprisingly, he had much less to say about the way the party’s time in power was coming to an end: in the ignominy of an EU/IMF bailout and a loss of economic independence.

Such was the final contribution by an Ahern brother to the Dáil. Bertie Ahern stepped down as taoiseach amid his own ignominy over his personal finances in 2008, and while he remained as a TD for Dublin Central, he rarely spoke again in the Dáil. Over Christmas he confirmed he would not contest the election.