Bertie Ahern rejoins Fianna Fail

Was he charged with perjury?

Any link?

You do know what happened? Everybody does. His lies could not be proven.

Ahern: I won my sterling backing horses - Independent.ie

FORMER Taoiseach Bertie Ahern yesterday finally accepted that controversial lodgments made to his accounts were in sterling -- but claimed he won some of the money betting on horses.

During heated exchanges between Mr Ahern and his tribunal nemesis, inquiry counsel Des O'Neill, the former Taoiseach was quizzed about six lodgments made to the Irish Permanent Building Society in 1994 totalling stg£15,500.

Mr Ahern previously told the tribunal the money came from salary and expenses cheques. But yesterday he said the sterling was made up of income and some big wins on horse races.

And he said he simply "forgot" about sterling lodgments of up to stg£13,000 which he now says he bought from his friend, Manchester businessman Tom Gilroe, who died four years ago.

Mr Ahern now accepts the fresh disclosures mean that he had IR£80,000 in savings at the time he accepted a IR£22,500 'dig-out' loan from eight friends in December 1993.

Grainne Carruth broke down while giving evidence last March. Ms Carruth broke down after she accepted that lodgments she made on behalf of Mr Ahern were in sterling.

He said he could explain "these sterling lodgments if they [the tribunal] had bothered to ask me".

But yesterday Mr Ahern admitted he knew through tribunal documentation that these lodgments were in fact sterling as far back as March, more than a week before his former secretary gave her evidence.

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His evidence was a complete joke. Mahon said "payments worth IR£165,000 "not truthfully accounted for".

The finance minister just about got away with it, others didn't. He was lucky it was a tribunal.

After the publication of the Mahon report, Fianna Fáil sought to expel any of its members that were found to have received corrupt payments. Bertie Ahern and Pádraig Flynn resigned from Fianna Fáil before they could be expelled.

As I said, he should have gone to prison. But this is Ireland. More tribunals was the answer.

Don't you worry though, FG promised to reform all this in 2011. Any day now...

If his lies could not be proven, why should he have gone to prison?

I presume you know how our how our justice system works.

If his truth could of been proven why did he resign and why did the FF threaten to expel him back when this all blew up. I presume you know people know how to manipulate the system. Ye know like tax avoidance as apposed to tax evasion. He was not called Teflon Bertie for nothing as nothing sticks to the fecker.

It was a toothless tribunal my boy. FF loved them for that exact reason. He was mocking the public. Everyone knew he was telling porkies. Even FF. He would have been brought to a criminal court in any other democratic country.

But stay naive and loyal, it suits you.

If all of them were not up to their necks in it he would have been sent down for a long time

in a just and honest world he would have got the Ceaușescu treatment for what he did to this country

They only got Al Capone on tax evasion.

When Morgan Kelly the UCD economist wrote in 2007 that the Irish property market was a massive bubble, Bertie responded with...

"Sitting on the sidelines, cribbing and moaning is a lost opportunity. I don't know how people who engage in that don't commit suicide"

Kelly also warned the government that their plan to invest in the ailing former Anglo Irish Bank was throwing good money after bad. He was ignored.

Any links to the charges brought against him?

The queen mother of scutter talk terry prone currently on prime time cheerleading for de Bert

The state of this

Yep I’m surprised the raised eyebrows over this. FF has been his life. He possibly undergoing some treatment based on blushed facial appearance.

He’s back in the wider party to talk about the Good Friday agreement in the run up to the anniversary and give him some distraction and focus apart from his brisk walks around the north city.

I don't think we should Bring Back Mick McCarthy either 😉

Probably , theres old ones that will vote him in .