Ahern: FG can't fulfil their election promises

Former Cabinet Minister Dermot Ahern has said he believes the promises Fine Gael has made during the election campaign will come back to haunt them.

Dermot Ahern, who previously held the position of Justice Minister, announced before the election that he was retiring from politics for health reasons.

In a frank interview, he has admitted that 14 years as a Minister was too long, as was 14 years in Government, and he accepts that Fianna Fáil will be in Opposition after Friday.

However, Mr Ahern said Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin had run an honest campaign, while he said Fine Gael had in contrast made some "outrageous promises".

He said he could not see how a lot of Fine Gael's promises would be fulfilled. "People will find that out very quickly when the election is over," he said.

"I just hope that the cynicism that is out there among the public with the politicians doesn't come back to haunt the political process."