Dublin: Ireland's Prime Minister Bertie Ahern has announced on Wednesday he will resign over a cash-payments scandal.

Ahern has told reporters outside his government office he will step down May 6. He has been Ireland's leader for 11 years, but his hold on power has steadily weakened since investigators alleged he secretly received cash payments from businessmen in the 1990s.

Investigators say they have uncovered more than $150,000 in undocumented cash deposits to Ahern.