Banking Inquiry: ‘Crash breaks my heart’

Bertie Ahern has staunchly defended his time as taoiseach, claiming the infamous Galway Tent was “no big deal”, that he never believed a property bubble existed, and that no one told him Ireland was facing boom or bust.

The former leader of Fianna Fáil made the claims during a lengthy grilling at the banking inquiry, where he said the crash “breaks my heart” but denied that what happened just months after he left office was “the biggest hospital pass in history”.

In more than four hours of questioning over why, in his own words, the boom got “boomier”, Mr Ahern repeatedly outlined his achievements. While giving a qualified apology by saying he made mistakes but “so does everyone”, he claimed: “When I handed over, we were still in a good position.”