Bertie Ahern is the leader of the Fianna Fáil political party. He has been prime minister of Ireland for 11 years. (In Ireland the prime minister is known as the Taoiseach – pronounced t-shock.)
 On 2nd April Mr Ahern made a surprise announcement. He said he had decided to give up the leadership of Fianna Fáil and step down as Taoiseach on 6th May. Mr Ahern has won three elections – the last one, only 11 months ago. Some people think he decided to step down before his party forced him to resign.
Mr Ahern has been accused of accepting illegal payments in the 1990s. He has always said this is untrue. But during a recent investigation a person who worked for Mr Ahern admitted she had made some payments into his bank account. Mr Ahern had previously denied receiving them, so her admission has put him in a difficult position.
Many people think Mr Ahern’s 11 years as prime minister have been a great success. For the last ten years Ireland has had one of the fastest-growing economies in Europe. There are very few people without jobs and many foreign companies have set up factories and offices in the country. For example, 620 American companies have set up subsidiaries in Ireland. These companies employ over 100,000 Irish people.
In the past, there were few jobs, so thousands of Irish people left to go to work in other countries. Many found jobs in the UK. Over the past ten years, as Ireland’s economy improved, fewer people left. Large numbers of workers have returned.
Mr Ahern also helped bring peace to Northern Ireland. Ireland was once part of Great Britain. In 1922 it became an independent country but the northern region, known as Northern Ireland, remained part of the UK. In the late 1960s fighting broke out in Northern Ireland. Some militant groups wanted it to join Ireland and others wanted it to stay part of the UK. The fighting lasted for over 30 years. Mr Ahern worked with Tony Blair, then prime minister of the UK, to persuade the leaders of the two opposing groups in Northern Ireland to sign a peace agreement and work together.
On 5th April it was confirmed that Brian Cowen will take over from Mr Ahern as the leader of Fianna Fáil. He will become Ireland’s new Taoiseach on 6th May. Mr Cowen has been Ireland’s deputy prime minister since 2007. | 
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