Noel Ahern is a former Irish

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...

 politician. He served as a Teachta Dála

Teachta Dála

A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...

 (TD) for the Dublin North West

Dublin North West (Dáil Éireann constituency)

Dublin North–West is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 3 deputies...

 constituency from 1992 to 2011. He also served as the Minister of State

Minister of State (Ireland)

A Minister of State in Ireland is of non-Cabinet rank, attached to one or more Departments of State of the Government of Ireland....

 at the Department of Transport

Department of Transport (Ireland)

The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport is a department of the Government of Ireland that is responsible for transport policy and overseeing transport services and infrastructure. The Department is led by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport who is assisted by two Ministers of State...

 with special responsibility for Road Safety from May 2008 to April 2009. Ahern is a brother of the former Taoiseach

Taoiseach

The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...

 and Fianna Fáil leader, Bertie Ahern

Bertie Ahern

Patrick Bartholomew "Bertie" Ahern is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 26 June 1997 to 7 May 2008....

 and younger brother of former Lord Mayor of Dublin

Lord Mayor of Dublin

The Lord Mayor of Dublin is the honorific title of the Chairman of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The incumbent is Labour Party Councillor Andrew Montague. The office holder is elected annually by the members of the...

 Maurice Ahern

Maurice Ahern

Maurice Ahern is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a member of Dublin City Council for the Cabra–Glasnevin local electoral area from 1999 to 2009. He was first elected at the 1999 local elections, topping the poll. He was re-elected at the 2004 local elections. He was the Lord Mayor of...

.

Early life

Born in Drumcondra, Dublin

Drumcondra, Dublin

Drumcondra is a residential area and inner suburb on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is administered by Dublin City Council.The River Tolka and the Royal Canal flow through the area.-History:...

 in 1944, he was educated at the Christian Brothers

Congregation of Christian Brothers

The Congregation of Christian Brothers is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. The Christian Brothers, as they are commonly known, chiefly work for the evangelisation and education of youth, but are involved in many ministries, especially with...

 O'Connell School, Dublin, University College Dublin

University College Dublin

University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...

 and the College of Commerce, Rathmines. He worked as an official with CIÉ

Córas Iompair Éireann

Córas Iompair Éireann , or CIÉ, is a statutory corporation of the Irish state, answerable to the Irish Government and responsible for most public transport in the Republic of Ireland and, jointly with its Northern Ireland counterpart, the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, between the...

 before becoming a politician.

Political career

He was elected to Dublin City Council

Dublin City Council

Dublin City Council is the local authority for the city of Dublin in Ireland. It has 52 members and is the largest local authority in Ireland. Until 2001, it was known as Dublin Corporation.-Legal status:...

 in 1985. At the 1992 general election

Irish general election, 1992

The Irish general election of 1992 was held on Wednesday, 25 November 1992, almost three weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 5 November. However, after difficulties in forming a government the newly elected 166 members of the 27th Dáil did not assemble at Leinster House until 4 January 1993...

 he was elected to Dáil Éireann

Dáil Éireann

Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...

 and was re-elected in every subsequent election until his retirement in 2011.

Between 1994 and 1997, Ahern served as Opposition spokesman on the Environment with special responsibility for Housing. In 1997, he served as Chairman of the Oireachtas All Party Dáil Committee on Social Community and Family Affairs. In 2002, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, with responsibility for Housing and Urban Renewal, and at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs

Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs is a department of the Government of Ireland. It is led by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.-Departmental team:...

, with responsibility for Drugs Strategy and Community Affairs. After the 2007 general election, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works

Office of Public Works

The Office of Public Works is a State Agency of the Department of Finance in the Republic of Ireland...

.

In May 2008, after Brian Cowen

Brian Cowen

Brian Cowen is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 7 May 2008 to 9 March 2011. He was head of a coalition government led by Fianna Fáil which until 23 January 2011 had the support of the Green Party and independent TDs.Cowen was also leader of Fianna Fáil from 7 May...

 became Taoiseach, he was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Transport with special responsibility for Road Safety. In April 2009, Ahern resigned along with all Junior ministers, at the request of the Taoiseach, and was not reappointed.

Housing affordability controversy

Ahern created controversy in June 2006 when, despite being the minister responsible for housing, he claimed that there were "many affordable new houses" available in Dublin "under €200,000". At the time, the difficulty of people on average salaries buying a first home was seen as particularly acute. Ahern was quoted as saying there was 'a tendency to get carried away' with the average house price.

Later in that year, Ahern again drew criticism when he described the four interest rate increases up to August 2006 as 'painless' for borrowers.

Retirement

In January 2011, he announced that he would not be contesting the 2011 general election.

He receives pension payments of €70,233 every year.