The penalty points system is working well the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has said after a leaked report today showed the Garda are unable to properly enforce measures introduced to curb speeding late last year.
Mr Ahern said resources had been allocated to the system and that, as far as he knew, most of the scheme was working well.
"The resources and the necessary powers have been given ... Obviously it will be better when it is computerised, but as I understand it the system is working quite well," he said.
Earlier, the Garda Síochána insisted any motorist caught speeding will be prosecuted despite the reports claiming the system is close to collapse.
The Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, has called for immediate action after the leaking of a confidential Garda report recommending reducing the number of speeding tickets issued.
The report - obtained by RTÉ - is said to warn that the penalty points system for speeding drivers is close to collapse due to a lack of funding.
But in a statement, the Garda said although it may take a few months to have to system running efficiently, any motorist caught speeding would incur penalty points even it took some time for them to be added onto the offender's licence.
The statement said the introduction of a computer system will speed the processing of speeding tickets and that separate court times to deal with upcoming proceedings against motorists who do not pay within the time frame will be of great help.
"The contract for the fully integrated IT System was signed last October," the statement adds. "This system will interface with systems in the Department of Environment, Local Government and the Court Services".
The new system will also deal with 61 other offences that will later come under the penalty points systems, the statement said.
Garda and Government officials are to discuss reports that the penalty points system for speeding drivers is at crisis point.
The leaked report had warned of a backlog of 10,000 pictures that officers have insufficient resources to deal with. It was also reported that one of the options recommended in the report including reducing the number of speeding tickets issued.
The report also claimed a computer system set to administer the speeding points will not function for another 18 months - six months longer than originally planned.
Ms Roisín Shortall, Labour Party spokeswoman on Transport, said the Government must accept the political blame for failing to plan properly and to ensure that the resources were available to the gardaí to effectively operate the scheme.
"The government has had five years to plan for its introduction and the sort of chaos highlighted in the report is simply inexcusable," she said.
Ms Shortall added that the attempts by Minister Brennan to pass the buck to the gardaí would not wash.
Fine Gael transport spokesman Mr Denis Naughten accused Mr Brennan of introducing new laws he was not prepared to enforce. "The impact of the introduction of the penalty points system will be lost within a few short months ... unless there is a commitment from Government to fund its enforcement," he said.
Mr George Maybury, of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, said his organisation had predicted that the system would fall into chaos. The "nonsense" has arisen because of a lack of Government funding, he said.
Mr Brennan will meet senior gardaí tomorrow to discuss the issue.