After week of talks during the bank inquiry former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has claimed that the Irish economy was in good condition before stood down back in 2008.
Mr Ahern has seemingly denied any responsibility for the country’s collapse which saw the nations banks in a mountain of debt and left the Irish nation at the mercy of the EU in and in dire need of a bailout, all which happened just a mere six months later after he decided to leave office. However Mr Ahern accepted that there was a huge over-dependence on tax from property under his watch. Mr Ahern also said that he is heart broken that Irish families have been victims to bad economy over the last few years. Although Mr Ahern did admit that he made mistakes during his regin, but claimed that ” everybody does when they govern”. The former Taoiseach also apologised for his mistakes saying: “Of course I apologise for my mistakes but I am also pleased that I did get a lot of things right.”
Mr Ahern faced a string of questioning during the inquiry, one of which the former Taoiseach was asked did he believe the economy was fundamentally sound when he left office, to which Mr Ahern replied: “Definitely.””When I handed over, we were still in a good position. Of course, I wish the recession did not happen. However, it is disingenuous to suggest that all the gains this country made have been wiped out.”
The former Fianna Fail leader also told the committee that he fully accepted the responsibility for the huge hike in the property sector, but strongly denied having any control on what was happening in the Central Bank or the offices of the Financial Regulator. Mr Ahern said:”None,” he reiterated. “So I take stick for lots of things but not stick for something I had zero control over.”