The role of Taoiseach is a “very different game” to that of a cabinet minister, according to Bertie Ahern.

On The Hard Shoulder today, he warned incoming Taoiseach Simon Harris that the job is “not easy” and to expect a never-ending “crisis of the day” that needs managing.

It comes as current Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is to formally offer his resignation to President Michael D. Higgins in Áras an Uachtaráin today, ahead of the Dáil’s return from Easter recess tomorrow.

Mr Ahern, who held the office of the Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, said Simon Harris needs to be prepared for a hectic schedule when he takes up the role.

“When you’re a minister you’re responsible for your own brief and you're usually well on top of your own brief, as [Harris] he has been in Health and Higher Education,” he said.

“The difference when Taoiseach is you have to be across everyone’s brief and you have to be there on good and bad days for other ministers.

“What tends to happen in Government is when there is a good day, the line minister is very happy to take things from the front but on bad days they vanish and leave you to deal with it.”

Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. Image: Artur Widak

The former Fianna Fáil leader said no day is the same as Taoiseach.

“When you’re a line minister you can set your day fairly predictable but when you’re Taoiseach there’s not a hope in hell of doing that,” he said.

“If some event happens at home or abroad, you’re straight into that issue – they want you to be out front and central on issues and handling them.

“It’s very hard to sit down on a Monday and say this is how it’s going to be between Monday and Friday as you would in a normal job.”

Attributes

Mr Ahern said Harris has promising attributes to make it in the role.

“He has a lot of experience - he’s seen it around the table - but when you’re in the firing line day in and out it’s not easy,” he said.

“He’s a very good communicator, he thinks fast, he’s a bundle of energy and he’s the right age to have a real go at it.”

Making a mark

Mr Ahern said he expects the incoming Taoiseach to have around eight months to make his mark on the role before an election – and can’t solve the big issues right away.

“He has settled on law and immigration as things he wants to make progress on, which are doable in the short term,” he said.

“He seems to have a huge focus on law and order and is chairing a taskforce in Dublin to try and deal with issues that have been around for a long time.

"The immigration issue is huge; the numbers coming into the country over recent years and Roderic O’Gorman has been battling away on this as best he can.

“There will obviously be a focus on that and the public could see great progress over the short term.”

You can listen back here:

Main image: Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris in June 2022. Picture by: Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ie