The Government will respond to the anger voiced by voters in the local elections over the A&E hospital crisis, disability services and cuts in community employment schemes for the long-term unemployed, the Taoiseach has said.
On returning from his annual holidays, Mr Ahern reinforced the Government's desire to be seen to be more in touch with public opinion, and insisted it was "socially-caring" and would listen to the message delivered by voters against Fianna Fáil candidates in June.
He said his Cabinet reshuffle would not be announced until the end of the month despite the clear desire among party members to have decisions taken quickly.
"For the last two years what we had to do was to protect the gains that were made, because there was a severe international recession, and to hold status quo as much as we could.
"In fact, two years on we are in a better position than anybody else and a better position than maybe we even thought ourselves," he said, during a press conference in Government Buildings.
"The American economy has picked up, the international economy has picked up. International growth is going strong. We have had a strong summer economy-wise here in terms of tourism and agriculture and other areas so that is a healthy position."
The Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party will spend two days in Inchydoney, west Cork, next week debating social issues and the party's ability to respond better to public needs.
Hinting strongly at a generous Budget, the Taoiseach said an accurate picture of the Government's finance would not emerge until the Department of Finance published the autumn Exchequer returns.
"But certainly we have to take account of things and what people are saying. We have to take account of some of the messages that we received that there were some areas where we need to do better. We are conscious of that and we are also conscious that there are sectors of the electorate that are not doing as well as others," he said.
Promising a better co-ordinated, more tightly-focused Cabinet , Mr Ahern said senior Ministers were now free of the workload caused by preparing and running the EU presidency.
"We all have to get back on the ground. We've given a free run to some of the minor parties around the place. We have to bring a bit of political reality back into it," he declared.
He rejected suggestions that he and the Cabinet had become distracted: "My eye is never off the ball. You know what the ball is but you can't play two games at the one time." Mr Ahern said the Minister for Health and Children, Mr Martin, had worked over the summer to produce a plan to deal with the acknowledged problems in A&E services.
He rejected charges that his decision to deal with the Cabinet reshuffle in late September had caused instability among TDs and Ministers, or affected the work of Government Departments.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, all but confirmed the belief that he will be the next Minister for Finance.
In Belfast yesterday, Mr Cowen said: "If you check with all my teachers you will find that I did honours math right throughout my school career. So don't worry about that aspect of it. Two and two is still four. You just add the noughts afterwards."
