The Taoiseach is expected to make a statement tomorrow in the Dáil about allegations that his former special adviser, Dr Martin Mansergh, organised secret talks about a ceasefire with the "Real IRA".
The Taoiseach insisted yesterday that the Government had "no contacts" with the organisation, following further claims of alleged secret talks between it and the Government shortly after the Omagh bombing in August 1998, which killed 29 people.
Dr Mansergh, now a Fianna Fáil senator, said yesterday that he did not have meetings with the "Real IRA" in the wake of the Omagh bombing.
He declined, however, to comment on whether he had had actual contacts with representatives of the paramilitary organisation.
The Sunday Business Post paper alleged that Dr Mansergh had asked the Belfast Redemptorist priest, Father Alex Reid, to act as a conduit for talks with the group and that the priest had been in telephone contact with the former adviser during the talks.
Mr Ahern told RTÉ News: "The Government had no contact with the 'Real IRA' after Omagh or at any other time."
Dr Mansergh yesterday reiterated that it was "ludicrous" to suggest the Government agreed to drop its investigation into the organisation's role in the Omagh bombing in return for a ceasefire.
The Government last week denied a Channel 4 televison claim that a Minister brokered a deal with the "Real IRA" in return for a ceasefire.
Opposition leaders had called on Mr Ahern to make a full and clear statement about alleged contacts between the Government and the organisation in the wake of the bombing.
The Government is also insistent that there were "no negotiations" with the republican paramilitary organisation, but has failed to elaborate on whether there were actual contacts by representatives of the Government.
The Fine Gael and Labour leaders are expected to raise the matter when the Dáil resumes tomorrow after the Hallowe'en break.
Mr Enda Kenny, the Fine Gael leader, said the reported involvement of Dr Mansergh in these alleged contacts "makes it incumbent on the Taoiseach to make a full statement on these matters.
"In particular he must explain whether the Government offered any concessions to the organisation which carried out the worst single atrocity in the history of Northern Ireland, in return for a ceasefire."
His comments were echoed by the new leader of the Labour Party, Mr Pat Rabbitte.
