Rebel Fianna Fáil backbench TD Ned O'Keeffe yesterday gave his support to the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern over current difficulties and said he believed that attempts were being made to scapegoat him.
Mr O'Keeffe said that he believed that attempts were being made to sabotage Mr Ahern through the leaking of details about his personal finances in the 1990s, but he declined to say who he believed was behind the move.
"I just think he's being blackguarded. The whole thing is being hyped up and I think he's being pressurised into saying things when he doesn't want to. I think there's an attempt being made to sabotage and scapegoat him," said Mr O'Keeffe.
Speaking to The Irish Times, Mr O'Keeffe confirmed an interview with the Corkman newspaper in which he admitted that he was "not happy with the way he [ Mr Ahern] treated me when it came to appointments after the last election and the election before that".
Mr O'Keeffe resigned as Minister for State for Agriculture and Food on February 17th, 2001, following a row over his failure to disclose an interest in a meat and bone meal milling facility during a Dáil debate on banning BSE-linked meat and bone meal.
He expressed annoyance at the Taoiseach's handling of the case, claiming Mr Ahern had broken a deal that he would be transferred to another post.
"The Taoiseach has withdrawn from everything and the deal has gone by the board," he said at the time.
However, Mr O'Keeffe said yesterday that he had no difficulty with Mr Ahern's leadership and would await the outcome of the Mahon tribunal's findings in relation to payments by a number of businessmen to Mr Ahern when he was minister for finance.
"I think his own personal finances at the time were his own business - remember there was no cap or regulations in place back then - he didn't break any ethics regulations. He had no meat and bone meal," he quipped.
"Personally, I have no difficulty with his leadership, he has brought peace to this country which is a major achievement and he has greatly helped the economy." Mr O'Keeffe added that he would continue to support the Government in crucial votes.
Mr O'Keeffe, who was first elected to the Dáil for Cork East in November 1982 and has been re-elected at every election since, confirmed that he intended to run again in the next general election which he expected to be three or four years away at the earliest.
