Recent remarks by the president of Conradh na Gaeilge, Mr Gearoid O Caireallain, about Protestants learning Irish were condemned in the Dail.
Writing in Irish in the weekly newspaper La earlier this month, he described the promotion of Irish among Protestants in Northern Ireland as a "disease", adding that "this disease is contagious" and "widespread".
Yesterday the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said that any remarks "which tried to draw things into a more sectarian way" were clearly unhelpful. It had been brought to his attention, he added, that Mr O Caireallain had claimed that his remarks were misrepresented and that the central point of his article was to emphasise that the way to make the Irish language appeal to Protestants was to make it more appealing, full stop.
The leader of Democratic Left, Mr Proinsias De Rossa, suggested that the remark was obnoxious for the leader of an organisation which was funded by the State.
The matter had been raised by Mr Joe Higgins (Socialist Party, Dublin West) who said that it was highly ill-advised to risk the Irish language being seen in a sectarian way.