Comments by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell at the weekend that Fianna Fáil would consider a deal with Sinn Féin in the wake of the next election have been dismissed by a spokeswoman for the Taoiseach.
The spokeswoman said coalition choices for Fianna Fáil were "not a matter" for Mr McDowell.
The Taoiseach had "reiterated time and time again" that he would not go into government with Sinn Féin because of the party's policies on tax, the economy and the EU.
"He would, I'm sure, have no problem repeating it again to Michael McDowell or anybody," she said. "Ultimately, the matter of Fianna Fáil's position post-election is a matter for the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party, not Michael McDowell."
The spokeswoman was reacting to comments by Mr McDowell in the Sunday Independent where he suggested that Sinn Féin could hold the balance of power after the next election.
According to the newspaper, when asked if keeping Sinn Féin out of government was still a valid reason to vote PD, given the Taoiseach's assurance that he would not go into government with Sinn Féin, Mr McDowell said: "If Sinn Féin got 12 seats in the next Dáil, and if they were pivotal seats which represented the balance of power, they would be - to use Martin McGuinness's phrase - kingmakers.
"Whatever people say in advance about what they would or would not do, it doesn't correspond with what happens afterwards."
Mr Ahern went to great lengths during Fianna Fáil's Ardfheis to rule out either coalition or relying on the support of Sinn Féin following the general election.
Mr McDowell's comments are believed to have angered Fianna Fáil TDs further following last week's controversy over comparing Fine Gael's Richard Bruton to the Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels, a remark that Mr McDowell apologised for.
He also angered Fianna Fáil deputies last month during a speech when he said the PDs would be the "meat" in any coalition it got involved in.
"The larger party may provide the taoiseach," he said. "But the junior party provides the essential direction of the government. The larger party may lead. The junior party defines the direction.
"It's not the more bulky bread which gives a sandwich its taste. Rather, it's the meat which gives a sandwich its flavour."