Photographs of Bertie Ahern and the hotel owner, businessman Louis Moriarty, in front of the 20m development on Wednesday, appeared in many national newspapers only for it to emerge the following day that Moriarty had been surrounded by controversy over dumping.

It is only fair to point out that Bertie Ahern has said that he did not know Moriarty or anything about the investigations. It seems that Ahern was asked by a local businesswoman, who is known to him, to visit the development. And, being the thoroughly obliging type that we all know the Taoiseach to be, he agreed to do so.

Although Moriarty lives around the corner from Ahern in Drumcondra, there is no reason to doubt the explanation.

After all, Ahern would hardly have willingly put himself in such a potentially embarrassing position had he known of a problem. Some have argued privately that Ahern should have got his people to do a quick check before agreeing to visit the site of the hotel. But that is a moot point. We quite rightly expect high standards from our politicians, but surely it hasn't reached the stage where we expect full vetting of everybody they come into contact with? That would seem like political correctness gone a step too far.

Most politicians reading of Ahern's embarrassment last week will probably have privately thought 'there but for the grace of God go I'. But, of course, the reality is that Ahern isn't 'most politicians' . . . he is our Taoiseach. And, it is legitimate to ask if the office of the Taoiseach, and the country generally, is well-served by Ahern's penchant for pretty much attending the opening of an envelope.

There is an argument . . . not entirely invalid . . . that Irish politics is uniquely informal and local, that politicians here are highly accessible and that is the way the public want it to be. Opening a pub or a shop or a hotel, it could be said, is just another manifestation of that, helping to keep politicians in touch with the people and, therefore, grounded.

But there is another argument . . . surely more compelling . . . that the Taoiseach of the day has much better things to be doing with his time than travelling the country attending openings. Nobody can question Bertie Ahern's work ethic.

He is clearly the hardest-working politician in the Dail . . . in last week's case, interrupting his holiday to visit the new hotel. However, it is surely not the best use of his time to be attending so many openings. Which is more important for the Taoiseach of the day: being present in the Dail on a Thursday or attending an opening in his or her constituency? The right answer must surely be the former, but for Ahern, the latter is clearly the priority.

Nobody in their right mind would say that Ahern should imitate Lemass and not go, for example, to the Galway Races or for a pint of Bass in Fagan's. There is the obvious point that these are very, very different times. Also, Lemass, having fought for Irish independence, could well remember when there was no office of the Taoiseach . . . when Ireland was ruled from Number 10, Downing Street. It is only natural therefore that for him, the perceived dignity of the office would always be paramount.

Ahern is also a very different personality to Lemass. He genuinely enjoys meeting people and working a room or an event. He has built an extraordinarily successful career by never, ever neglecting the personal touch. But as Taoiseach, he must also be able to see the bigger picture. At a time when the standing of politicians in this country has never been lower, what message does it send out when the Taoiseach of the day is cutting a ribbon for the opening of a new pub or a boutique?

Obviously, it would not be healthy for the leader of the country to be revered, but the diminishing respect for the office of the Taoiseach is worrying. On a number of occasions in recent years, Ahern has been booed at major sporting occasions. Public signs of dissent are of course both natural and desirable in any democracy. But the frequency with which it has happened is further evidence of a growing and deep-seated cynicism towards politics and politicians.

It would be unfair to blame Ahern for this . . . a previous generation of politicians must take primary responsibility.

It would be naive to ignore the fact that Ahern's number-one objective is to win next year's election, but he would be remiss if he did not see it as part of his job to help restore confidence in, and respect for, our political institutions.

The Taoiseach is at his best when he is not engaging in partisan party politics . . . he has shown on a European and a world stage that he can be a statesman, while his role in the IRA decision to end its war and decommission has been critical. It's now long past the time for him to decommission his scissors.