Taoiseach Brian Cowen has paid tribute to Bertie Ahern, who announced last night that he would not be contesting the next General Election.
Mr Cowen said the announcement marked the end of an era, and he described his predecessor as the consummate politician of his generation in this country.
He said he had always admired Mr Ahern not only for his leadership skills, his great commitment and his outstanding political instincts, but also for his courtesy and kindness to colleagues.
Bertie Ahern announced his intention not to seek re-election to the Dáil during a Fianna Fáil party meeting in Dublin last night.
He said as far back as 2002 he had made it clear he would stand down when he was 60.
With a spring election now due and his birthday in September, he was confirming he would not be a candidate in the election.
Mr Ahern told the O’Donovan Rossa Fianna Fáil Cumman that he was proud of what he had achieved in politics.
In his speech, he said: 'It is not given to anyone in life who tries and tries again not to sometimes fail. Years of apparently great success then, are apparently tainted by great failures now.
'But the truth is more complex and in time it will be viewed more dispassionately.'
On the current crisis, he said Ireland was not, in his words, 'banjaxed' or 'an economic corpse'.
'Ireland is a country of real achievement and yes of real and pressing problems. The truth is that our country will recover. We will regain our stride and we will succeed in holding on to many of the gains we have made together. '
Meanwhile, Labour TD Joe Costello said Mr Ahern is entitled to the gratitude of the entire Irish people for the skill, commitment and dedication he showed with others in the successful efforts to end violence and bring political stability to Northern Ireland.
'However, he will also be remembered as one of the authors of the disastrous Fianna Fail policies that created the worst economic crisis in the history of the state and led to the intervention of the IMF and the EU.'
Deputy Costello said he wished him well.
Political career
Prior to becoming Taoiseach in 1997, Bertie Ahern held most of the important cabinet portfolios including Finance, Labour and Industry and Commerce.
His career in politics began at 17 years of age when he joined Fianna Fáil.
He became a TD in 1977 and began to progress up the party hierarchy.
In 1987 he was made Minister for Labour. He later spent periods as Minister for Industry and Commerce and Minister for Finance.
Following the collapse of the Fianna Fáil / Labour government in 1994, Mr Ahern was elected leader of his party and three years later, he led Fianna Fáil into coalition with the Progressive Democrats.
During his time as Taoiseach he won acclaim for the role he played in the Northern Ireland peace process - helping to negotiate the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
However, his spell in office was plagued by questions about his financial affairs in the 1990s.
