The former US president Mr Bill Clinton and his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, will visit Dublin and Belfast next week to promote his autobiography, My Life.
While Mr Clinton does not have any official engagements with the Government, a source indicated that he will meet in private with the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, during the three-day visit.
His publishers, Random House, had hoped that the Taoiseach would be present at a book-signing in Dublin, but Mr Clinton said he would prefer to meet Mr Ahern privately.
A spokesman for the Taoiseach was unable to confirm last night that Mr Ahern will meet with the former president and said there was no such engagement in the Taoiseach's diary at this time.
Mr Clinton will be signing copies of the memoir in Eason's bookshop on O'Connell Street, Dublin, next Wednesday morning. He will travel with Senator Clinton to Northern Ireland the following day.
While Mr Clinton will have a second book-signing engagement in Belfast, his wife will deliver an address on peace and reconciliation at the University of Ulster in Derry.
The Clintons have travelled to Ireland on several occasions. The most notable of their official visits was in December 1995, when the president addressed tens of thousands of people at College Green, Dublin. The couple also visited Omagh, Co Tyrone, after the "Real IRA" bomb attack in August 1998 in which 29 people and unborn twins were killed.
Mr Clinton's book, which was published in June, was at the top of the best sellers' list for four weeks and remains at number three.
While chronicling his childhood, his rise to political power and two terms as president, it also details his involvement in the Northern Ireland peace process and his controversial relationship with the White House intern Ms Monica Lewinsky.
A Garda spokeswoman said it was unlikely any gardaí would be detailed specifically to protect the Clintons during their visit. "It's a Posh and Becks situation, these people generally have their own minders," she said. However, gardaí would be available for crowd control duties if required.