Running mates came and went, some successful and some not, all left in little doubt that their allotted role was that of subordinate hoping to pick up the crumbs from Bertie's surplus, and that they should not develop any notions of equality.

However, the government fell after a motion of no confidence, proposed by Fine Gael and Leader of the Opposition John Bruton, seconded by Fianna Fáil's former coalition partners the Labour Party.

On 24 September 2003, Ahern and Blair were jointly awarded the Thomas J. Dodd Prize in International Justice and Human Rights for their work on the Good Friday Agreement to promote peace between Britain and Northern Ireland.

[36][37] This growth changed in 2008, with a difficult budget for 2008, brought forward by 2 months, as Ireland entered recession,[38] with unemployment expected to rise 5.6% in 2008 and the construction industry in decline.

During 2003, the government was subject to more controversy when it became public that US military aircraft, carrying large numbers of troops, were refuelling at Shannon Airport, despite widespread opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Improvements had been made in the transport infrastructure with the launch of the Luas light rail system in Dublin, many new motorways being built and the break-up of Aer Rianta, the state-owned Airport Management company.

[42] The Moriarty Tribunal[43] reporting in December 2006, criticised Ahern for having signed blank cheques for the then party leader Charles Haughey, who misappropriated taxpayers' funds for personal use.

Harris declared that the anti-Ahern campaign was the most sinister manipulation of the Irish media that he had seen in his lifetime and that Sinn Féin would be the main beneficiaries of a fall in support for Ahern and Fianna Fáil.

There was speculation that the timing was instead motivated by the commencement of the Mahon Tribunal's Quarryvale module scheduled for that week, particularly Tom Gilmartin's evidence – the hearing thus had to be postponed until after the election was over.

[55] On 4 July 2007, Ahern stated at a conference in County Donegal that he did not understand why people sitting on the sidelines, "cribbing and moaning" about the economy, did not commit suicide.

"[64] The Minister for the Environment and leader of the Green Party, John Gormley said on 22 February 2008, that revelations concerning Ahern at the Mahon Tribunal were distracting from the work of government.

[66] Grainne Carruth's acceptance as a matter of civil probability that she had lodged sterling sums to Ahern's account at the Drumcondra branch of the Irish Permanent Building Society in the 1990s had reportedly sent shock waves through the ranks of Fianna Fáil.

[68][69] An opinion poll published[70] on 25 November 2007, showed that support for Fianna Fáil had dropped by seven per cent, "following the announcement of large pay increases for the government and senior public servants against a backdrop of continuing economic uncertainty and high-profile failures in the health service."

[73] On 6 May 2008, he performed his last official duty as Taoiseach in opening the Battle of the Boyne visitors centre with the First Minister of Northern Ireland, Ian Paisley.

In a November 2009, interview with VIP magazine, Ahern spoke of how critics who blame the government for the economic crisis should "dig the garden or grow bluebells or do something useful".

"[78] On 25 October 2007, Ahern[79] was criticised after the government accepted a recommendation from the Review Body on Higher Remuneration that senior civil servants and ministers receive pay increases.

In return for supporting Haughey, Gregory was promised a deal worth 100 million pounds at the time, which was to be used to redevelop North Inner City Dublin and to provide a greater number of houses and employment in an area which was considered Ireland's poorest and most disadvantaged.

[85] In September 2006 The Irish Times printed claims allegedly leaked[86] from the Mahon Tribunal that Ahern had received money from a millionaire businessman while Minister for Finance in 1993.

On 28 November 2007, former NCB managing director Padraic O'Connor at the Mahon Tribunal, "directly contradicted Mr Ahern's claims that long-standing friends gave him a loan just after Christmas 1993.

In its final report, the Mahon tribunal found that, contrary to his sworn evidence, no 'dig-outs' in 1993 and 1994 were arranged to give money to Mr Ahern and that large dollar and sterling cash lodgements were made to his bank accounts in the mid-1990s.

[96] On 3 October 2006, Ahern made a 15-minute statement in Dáil Éireann defending his actions in taking loans totalling IR£39,000 (€50,000) from friends in Ireland and £8,000 (€11,800) as a gift from businessmen in Manchester in 1993 and 1994.

On 5 October 2006, further information emerged[102] in the Dáil that Ahern had bought his house in Dublin, from Manchester-based Irish businessman, Micheál Wall, who was at an event in Manchester in 1994, where the Taoiseach received a payment of GBP£8,000 (€11,800).

[130] In mid-January 2008, it emerged in the press,[131] reportedly as leaks from parties to the Mahon tribunal, that Ahern would not be in a position to present a Tax Clearance Certificate to the Dáil, as required under ethics legislation.

The fortnightly magazine The Phoenix featured "De Diary of a Nortsoide Taoiseach", a satirical column written from Ahern's point of view in a phonetic transliteration of his broad north Dublin accent.

"[149][150] A biography of Ahern was published in 2011, Bertie: Power & Money, by Colm Keena,[151][152] On 30 December 2010, in a speech to his party cumann in the Dublin Central constituency, he announced that he would not be contesting the 2011 general election.

[169][170] Colm Keena in a biography of Ahern[171] described how "his desire for power and an almost complete absence of political conviction, left him open to the influence of those with strong opinions, whose interests precipitated his mismanagement of the Irish economy."

His handshake with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang while there got pictured on the front page of the South China Morning Post above a story about "internet big hitters".

[182] In a December 2015 interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme Ahern said low-pay workers had brought the country to its knees because they got "cocky" and insisted on "second, third and even fourth homes".

[183] In December 2019 Ahern acted as chairman of the referendum commission for the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in a non-binding vote with regards to independence from Papua New Guinea.

His government came under severe criticism for the deal they made with the religious orders, capping their contribution to the redress board at €128 million while taxpayers will have to pay out €1 billion.