Martin sought to expel Ahern from the party in 2012.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that he is open to former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern being readmitted to the Fianna Fáil party.
Ahern resigned from the party in 2012 in the wake of the Mahon Tribunal and after Martin made it clear it was his intention to seek the expulsion of Ahern from the party.
However, during a Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday, it was proposed that Ahern should be readmitted to the party as part of plans to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
Martin said that it had been over a decade since Ahern left the party and that the context was different then than it is now.
“I’m saying as far as I’m concerned it’s ten years on,” Martin said, according to RTÉ.
“I am conscious of the contribution he has made to peace in the country… and [Ahern’s return to the party is] something in the fullness of time we can look at.”
Martin also confirmed that he has been engaging with Ahern for over a year about issues to do with the Northern Ireland protocol.
When he left the part in 2012, Ahern said he was “deeply saddened” by the tabling of a motion to expel him from the party which he had led for 14 years.
Image via Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
