State was 'in safe hands', says Ahern

FORMER TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern has said the country was “in safe hands” when he was taoiseach and Charlie McCreevy was minister for finance.

Mr Ahern said people were now trying to rewrite history “as if Lehmans never happened or Bear Stearns never happened”.

He was speaking at the launch of his autobiography by Mr McCreevy in Dublin last night. “But the reality is that when the country throughout the years that I was taoiseach, they were in safe hands when Charlie McCreevy and myself were looking after it,” he said.

Mr Ahern said he and Mr McCreevy had been glad to serve their country and wished colleagues in the current Government well in dealing with “difficult situations from an international downturn”.

The former taoiseach also strongly defended public servants, saying it was now a time when it seemed popular to “have a go” at them.

“I want to say I have the same view as I had of them all the time . . . They’re committed people and long live the Irish public service,” he said.

Mr Ahern did not refer to the circumstances around his resignation as taoiseach.

“My whole plan was to end up my political career around this time anyway, was to finish up four decades in politics. Nearly made that, still a member of the Dáil,” he said.

In a humorous contribution Mr McCreevy said he was grateful to Mr Ahern for the opportunity he gave him to go to Europe as commissioner “when I asked him to do so”.

Mr McCreevy said he and Mr Ahern had “pulled some political strokes”, adding that “for the benefit of non-Irish people, political strokes are always done by Fianna Fáil, other parties do things in the national interest”.

Responding to reporters’ questions about politicians’ expenses earlier, Mr Ahern said he hoped there would not be a witch-hunt.