Bertie Ahern's admitted he made mistakes during his time in Government.

In evidence to the Banking Inquiry the former Taoiseach says the effects of the crisis on people "breaks his heart".

But he's also defended his handling of the economy for his 11 years in charge - and even claimed that he had wanted to raise concerns about the liquidity of the banking sector but did not want to attract disproportionate media attention.

He's also played down the impact of the party's links to developers and the construction industry, though admitting that the policies pursued while he was in office contributed to a property bubble.

Our political correspondent Gavan Reilly reports: