The Taoiseach was "off on a frolic" with the suggestion that Fianna Fáil may organise and contest elections in the North, the Labour Party leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, said yesterday.
Mr Rabbitte was talking at Stormont where he had a round of talks with the political parties.
Referring to Mr Ahern's comments in a recent interview with the Sunday Business Post, Mr Rabbitte said the idea was not "realistic or helpful in the present environment". He confirmed Labour plans to foster branches outside the State, including one in Belfast, but he said there was no appetite for putting forward candidates for elections.
"There are labour-minded people in Northern Ireland, who are for whatever reason not members of the SDLP, who have joined our party but not for the purposes of entering into an overcrowded electoral environment," he said.
The SDLP leader, Mr Mark Durkan, has already poured cold water on the prospect of Fianna Fáil contesting Northern elections, but he has spoken of a "political realignment" in Ireland insisting that his party would not be a casualty of such change. The SDLP and the Labour Party are formally linked through the Socialist International and the Socialist Group in the European Parliament.
Asked by The Irish Times how he viewed any such "realignment", Mr Rabbitte said: "In whatever realistic timespan I could foresee, I can foresee myself being preoccupied with problems other than that one."
The Labour leader was accompanied by Ms Liz McManus, Mr Brendan Howlin and Mr Fergus Finlay. The delegation met Sinn Féin, the UUP, SDLP, Alliance, Women's Coalition and Mr David Ervine's PUP. They also had discussions with DUP members.
Mr Rabbitte said there was no alternative to the Belfast Agreement. While remaining cautious, he said he did anticipate major movement as efforts continue to break the political impasse. But he stressed the timespan available for any breakthrough was limited.