FORMER TAOISEACH BERTIE Ahern has said the 2025 presidential election is “too far away” to discuss, following his reinstatement as a member of Fianna Fáil.
Ahern spoke tonight at a Fianna Fáil event to mark the 25th anniversary the Good Friday Agreement, in which he played a pivotal role.
His return to the party has fuelled speculation that he is planning to run for the Áras.
Introducing Ahern, Fianna Fáil TD Jim O’Callaghan, who organised the event, said “no one person in Ireland did more” than the then-Taoiseach in securing the Good Friday Agreement.
Speaking to reporters before the event, Ahern said he had re-joined the party as an ordinary member and that he wished to support the government.
He resigned from Fianna Fáil in 2012 after the Mahon Tribunal. He made the move before party leader Micheál Martin sought to expel him from the party.
He said this evening: “I have no intention of going back to my old job.”
When asked about a potential presidential bid, he said the race to the Áras in 2025 was “too far away.”
“My main job, as I’ve said before, is to try and stay alive that long,” he said.
The event – a panel discussion with columnist Patricia MacBride – was his first public appearance since his reinstatement to the party was confirmed.
Ahern said he was in Brussels yesterday to meet the UK’s Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris to discuss restoring power-sharing in Stormont.
He added that he wanted to work with the Taoiseach and Tánaiste to resolve the issues arising from Brexit and to get the Assembly up and running again. He said he was offering his assistance out of “public service.”
When asked if his return to the party had proved divisive, he said no.
Speaking at the event, he said UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak seemed like “a nice guy”, but said he was totally opposed to the Troubles Legacy Bill currently going through Westminster.
Fianna Fáil members are considered provisional during their first year and they do not have voting rights.
Ahern resigned from Fianna Fáil in 2012 after the Mahon Tribunal. He stepped down as Taoiseach in 2008 and as a TD in 2011. He made the move before party leader Micheál Martin sought to expel him from the party.
The tribunal (officially the Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments) found that he did not truthfully account for payments of IR£165,000 made to accounts connected to him.
It was scathing in its treatment of the former Taoiseach, rejecting much of the evidence he provided in connection to a substantial number of lodgements made in the 1990s.
Although the tribunal did not make findings of corruption against Ahern, it proved hugely damaging to his reputation. He has disputed the findings.
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