The Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern announced this morning that he would be stepping down as leader of the Irish nation and the political party Fianna Fail on May 6th.
Mr. Ahern stated his intention following the ongoing revelations from the Mahon Tribunal's inquiry into corruption.
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In an emotional statement from government buildings the Irish Leader announced his intention to step down, following allegations in mainstream Irish media of perjury. "Never, in all the time I've served in public life, have I put my personal interests ahead of the public good."
Mr. Ahern has been embroiled in controversy concerning payments he received in the mid-90s when he was Minister for Finance. These payments were revealed by a state Inquiry into corruption, the Mahon Tribunal, before which he has been giving evidence since September 2007.
The issue reached crisis proportions two weeks ago when his former secretary, Grainne Carruth, revealed that she had lodged several large sums of English currency into the Irish Leader's personal accounts. Her evidence revealed that the Taoiseach had mis-led the Tribunal when he had testified that no such sums were lodged into his accounts.
Last week, two government Ministers called for a statement to allay "significant public disquiet" concerning these revelations.
Mr. Ahern's announcement comes 3 weeks before the Irish Leader is due to address the US Congress.
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