The Taoiseach has expressed annoyance at continuing media coverage of his private life. "It is a bit of a nuisance, I have to confess," Mr Ahern said. "I suppose when everything else is going well somebody has to find something to go on about and make it dramatic."
Mr Ahern said a recent opinion poll showed that those who thought his private life was his own business, and those who had no interest in it, represented three-quarters of voters in the State.
Speaking to journalists at the Ogra Fianna Fail conference in Killarney, Co Kerry, on Saturday, he said he was always reluctant to discuss his private life. "No matter what you say, it is twisted," he added.
There was little talk of the Taoiseach's private life among the delegates, who clearly approved of his political stewardship and gave him the customary standing ovation.
Yesterday's Ireland on Sunday, in which extracts from a new biography of Mr Ahern appear, quotes the Taoiseach denying what he says are persistent rumours that he has been involved in domestic violence.
The rumours of barring orders, violence and Garda reports have been known to the Taoiseach, his wife, Miriam, and his partner, Ms Celia Larkin, for some time, the paper says.
Bertie Ahern: Taoiseach and Peacemaker by two Ireland on Sunday journalists, Ken Whelan and Eugene Masterson, contains details of rumours which the Taoiseach flatly denies.
In the book Mr Ahern is said to complain that events in his personal and social life have been warped to give a false impression of a man given to domestic violence.
One such story, according to Ireland on Sunday, concerns an incident in which Ms Larkin fell during a party. The Taoiseach says word soon spread throughout the country that she was attending hospital regularly, as a result of his behaviour.
"It is rubbish," Mr Ahern is quoted as saying. "You can march into the Mater yourself and you will find nothing." Mr Ahern is also quoted as rebutting allegations of Garda reports of barring orders. "You can sound me out till the cows come home: you'll find no reports, no barring orders, nothing. I'll tell you, there's not a whole lot of things in my life that I can 110 per cent swear on, because I'm no more an angel than anyone else in this life, but of the barring orders there is zilch."
In his address to the Killarney conference, Mr Ahern expressed concern at the findings of a recent opinion poll showing that one in three of the 300,000 people eligible to vote since the 1992 general election had not registered or had no intention of voting. He announced that the Cabinet committee on social inclusion had agreed in principle to continue the 13 local drugs task forces which were set up in Dublin and north Cork city. He added that the committee would undertake a major review of the overall national drugs strategy.
The Taoiseach also pledged to spearhead a new drive to change the way the State does its business in dealing with urban black-spots. He said that pilot schemes would be initiated in Dublin's north-east inner city and canal communities, Jobstown in Tallaght and Togher in Cork.
"We know what has to be done in these black-spots," he said. "We've talked about it and analysed it for long enough. It's time to just do it.
"In the heel of the hunt, all we are talking about is applying a common-sense set of principles to the State's collective endeavour in these areas and some modest resources, if required."