The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, moved yesterday to placate unhappy backbenchers by awarding them lucrative Oireachtas committee positions.
Mr Ahern used 14 key committee chairmanships to bring on side dissidents in the parliamentary party, and to ease the pain for disappointed backbenchers who failed to secure junior ministerial promotion. Among the more vocal critics in the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party to get plum jobs are Deputies Noel O'Flynn, Sean Power, Batt O'Keeffe, Brendan Smith, Eoin Ryan, Tony Killeen, Sean Fleming, Cecilia Keaveney and Johnny Brady.
Left out of the promotion list was Dublin South West TD, Mr Conor Lenihan, who has been the most publicly critical of the Government and its performance in recent months.
Meath Deputy, Ms Mary Wallace, who was deeply upset at the manner in which she was dropped from Mr Ahern's junior ministerial line-up, has not been given a chair or vice-chair position. It is understood Ms Wallace made it clear to the Taoiseach she was not interested in any position.
Chairing a committee is considered an attractive perk in Leinster House. The job carries an extra allowance of €15,400 a year, while the vice-chair positions have an allowance of €7,800.
The most sought-after job, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, has gone, as predicted, to Dr Michael Woods. He served in every Fianna Fáil cabinet from 1979 until the May election. Dr Woods was known to be disappointed when he was dropped from the new Cabinet.
Cork North Central Deputy, Mr Noel O'Flynn, has been appointed chair of the Communications, Marine and Natural Resources Committee. This was seen as a reward for Deputy O'Flynn's poll-topping performance in a constituency that returned three Fianna Fáil TDs in May. When making the appointment, the Taoiseach also took into account that the constituency has no cabinet member or junior minister.
Deputy O'Flynn incurred the ire of the Taoiseach during the general election campaign when he described some aslyum-seekers as spongers and freeloaders. The DPP ruled this week that Mr O'Flynn had no criminal case to answer for his comments.
Another Cork North Central deputy, Mr Billy Kelleher, has been appointed Deputy Government Whip, a post that carries €12,000 a year on top of his salary.
The Finance and Public Services chair goes to Deputy Sean Fleming, his first time to hold a committee chair.
Mr John McGuinness, who recently wrote a newspaper article condemning the Government for not giving the public the full economic picture during the general election campaign, has been appointed vice-chair of the prestigious Public Accounts Committee.
Traditionally Fine Gael holds the chair of this committee. It is understood their nominee for this post will be Mr John Perry TD.
The opposition also hold the chair of the Social and Family Affairs Committee and the European Affairs Committee.
One surprise appointment was that of Sligo-Leitrim TD, Mr John Ellis, to vice-chair of the Transport committee. This committee is to be chaired by Deputy Eoin Ryan, who was dropped as a junior minister by Mr Ahern in June. Deputy Ellis resigned as chair of the Agriculture and Food Committee during the last government when it emerged he had a debt of £243,000 written off by National Irish Bank in 1991. The revelation angered a group of western farmers, who were owed £300,000 by Mr Ellis after his meat business collapsed in the late 1980s. Mr Ellis has since made a settlement with the farmers.