The Taoiseach said today he was "obviously disappointed" with the results of this morning's Irish Times/TNS mrbi poll which showed record low satisfaction levels with the Government and Mr Ahern himself.
"What we're trying to do is manage in a difficult situation and of course I think the poll shows clearly where the people are taking that out on the Government," Mr Ahern said.
According to the poll, satisfaction with the Government is at 28 per cent, down three points since the last poll was conducted last February. The is the lowest satisfaction rating for the Government since the Mr Ahern became leader of Fianna Fáil.
Satisfaction with Mr Ahern is at 41 per cent, down two per cent on the February poll. This is the Mr Ahern's lowest satisfaction rating since he took power in 1997.
The Minister for Transport Mr Brennan blamed the Government's 28 per cent satisfaction rating on the slowing economy. "When we said 'much done more to do' we meant we had done a lot and a lot more to do included handing our way through difficult times," he said.
"We never at any time said the Celtic Tiger was going to go on forever.
"I confess, maybe people go that impression. When you say 'much done more to do' I suppose your inclined to give the impression that the 'more to do' is actually more of the same and therefore you can deliver the same type of growth you were delivering up to now.
"That's not what it meant. Maybe we didn't explain that clearly enough," he added.
Fine Gael insisted the results of an poll - that showed its public support was plummeting - were a vindication of its criticisms of the Government.
The party's deputy leader, Mr Richard Bruton TD, argued this morning that the poll exposed the Government's "fraudulent election" promises.
The poll showed Fine Gael's public support had fallen to 20 per cent, two points below the Labour Party. The Fine Gael leader's personal approval rating is down to 26 per cent.
"There are positive things," Mr Bruton told RTÉ this morning. "Of course, we are disappointed that we aren't doing better in the polls".
He said Fine Gael had had to rebuild and reorganise itself after its terrible performance in last years' general election - and that this was why progress was slow.
"There is an expectation that it will take time and Enda [Kenny] has been putting his work into building that strong team for the longer term," he added.
"The problem is that turning an oil tanker after a defeat of the nature that we have had takes time, and the energy of the party has had to go into rebuilding and strengthening the team around Enda Kenny".