The Taoiseach has told angry Fianna Fáil backbenchers they will in future be able to question Ministers directly on policy so they can be brought more closely into the Government decision-making process.
The promise was delivered at a heated meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party yesterday in which a number of TDs attacked Mr Ahern and his Cabinet over their performance since the general election.
Mr Ahern and the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, came under fire from a number of Fianna Fáil backbenchers, at the first regular weekly meeting of the parliamentary party since the election, for keeping them in the dark over the recent public-spending cutbacks.
The Taoiseach was told by one TD that the Government had better "buck up" or else. It is understood that Mr Ahern and Mr McCreevy were taken aback at the extent of the criticism.
One TD told The Irish Times last night it was the first time backbenchers had a proper chance "to have a go" about how the Government had performed since June.
"It was made very clear to them that we are all in this together and that they had better keep us informed or there would be trouble on the way."
Another said: "They were told that they and they alone are responsible for the slide in the economy and for the trouble we are in with the public finances. They had got us into this mess and now they better get us out."
Mr Ahern promised backbenchers that they would be able to monitor Ministers more closely in the future through a committee system when meetings would be called between Ministers and TDs to discuss proposed new policy changes.
A total of 13 TDs contributed to a motion tabled by Cork East TD Mr Ned O'Keeffe asking the Minister for Finance to outline his strategy for the forthcoming Budget. Strong views were aired during this debate.
TDs who spoke included Mr John McGuinness, Mr Conor Lenihan, Mr Sean Fleming, Mr John Malony, Mr Peter Power, Mr Jim Glennon and Mr Ned O'Keeffe.
In what one source described as a "robust and frank" discussion, deputies were critical that cuts were "drip-fed" and leaked to the media over the summer.
Mr McCreevy rejected claims the cuts were a surprise and said the slowdown in the economy had been no secret. He said there had been signals of a slowdown from June of 2001 and there had been plenty of warnings.
He warned that hard choices would have to be made in the coming months and priorities would have to be set.
The Taoiseach warned backbenchers they would have to sacrifice "pet projects" in their constituencies.