The Taoiseach has said he had "no prior knowledge" that his signature was to be used in a pre-election letter sent by a Fianna Fáil councillor to around 2,000 households in north Wexford.
Answering questions in the Dáil this morning, Mr Ahern said his party was conducting its own investigation into the forged letter sent out by Mr Lorcan Allen, who was seeking re-election in the Gorey area on June 11th.
He said that had he known, he would "naturally enough" have taken steps to make sure it did not happen. "It should not have happened," he said. Mr Ahern said the Government had, in recent years, put in place the Standards in Public Office legislation, which in his view governed all such "inappropriate" conduct.
The Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny said this particular "ethical scandal" was the latest in a "long list".
He referred to the Taoiseach's own involvement some years ago in signing blank cheques, the delivery of voting cards with Fianna Fáil election literature stapled to them and the recent use of diplomatic bags to deliver election material to public servants abroad. Mr Kenny noted the letter sent out by Mr Allen said the candidate was "patriotic and honest".
He said he did not believe Mr Ahern should be dealing with the matter through the national executive of Fianna Fáil. He said if the Taoiseach did not do something about the matter, a situation could arise where his signature could be used anywhere from an application form from a student for a summer job in McDonald's to a situation where someone seeking entry to the US used it as a reference.
Mr Ahern said the individual involved had said he was "totally guilty", that the letter was forged and that it was a "misuse and abuse" of his signature.
"It now falls on my party to deal with it," he added. Mr Allen said earlier this week that he took full responsibility for the letter and he apologised to the Taoiseach and the party.
The national executive of Fianna Fáil will discuss a report on the matter in a week's time. The Wexford councillor is himself a member of the national executive. The Tánaiste told the Dáil last night that the Garda should investigate the fake letters.