Former Taoisech Bertie Ahern has said he is sorry for the mistakes he made as Taoiseach.

During opening remarks to the Banking Inquiry, Mr Ahern said: "I know that during my time as Taoiseach, while I did not get everything right, I can honestly put my hand on my heart and say I did try my very best to do the right thing by the Irish people."

"Of course, I apologise for my mistakes, but I am also pleased that I did get a lot of things right," he added.

He went on to say: "The downturn did have a very hard impact on individuals and families, especially those who lost their jobs, and of course that saddened me and I wish the recession did not happen."

"However, it is disingenuous to suggest that all the gains this country made have been wiped out."

He concluded his opening remarks by saying: "The last few years have been extremely tough on many ordinary families and that breaks my heart, but the work of our democratic political system must prevail and the problems we faced on a massive scale of unemployment, emigration and the banking crisis, are on track to being resolved."

The former Taoiseach says Fianna Fáil was wrong to get rid of its fundraising tent at the Galway Races.

But Ahern has played down claims that developers used the tent to get access to leading politicians.

Other former ministers have told the Banking Inquiry they didn't like the tent, and saw attending it as a chore.

But he launched a robust defence of the tent when questioned by Labour senator Susan O'Keeffe:

He also says he was horrified to find out so few people were regulating banks.

Ahern says giving the number of staff in the regulators office he couldn't believe they weren't monitoring banks:

The ex-Fianna Fáil leader, who served three terms as Taoiseach, is likely to be asked whether he had any inkling that a major financial shock was coming, and if that might have influenced his decision to step down.

Mr Ahern was a TD from 1977 until February 2011 and held several senior positions in government, including that of finance minister.

He succeeded John Bruton as Taoiseach in June 1997, and continued to serve until his resignation in May 2008.

He is also due to be quizzed about the effectiveness of the Oireachtas in scrutinising public policy on the banking sector and the economy - as well as the appropriateness of the advice from the Department of Finance to government.

Earlier, the legal advisor to the former government has said it WOULD have been legally possible to burn the bondholders of Ireland's banks, without customers having to lose their deposits.

The advice from the former attorney general Paul Gallagher appears to contradict the claims of some former ministers.

Mr Gallagher said it might have been difficult to keep depositors safe while burning bondholders - but it wasn't impossible.