The Taoiseach has been accused of putting party interest before the national interest by delaying the appointment of Ministers of State.
The accusation came from a Labour TD, Mr Tommy Broughan, who said Mr Ahern was deliberately delaying the appointments to enable future junior ministers to vote in the forthcoming mayoral contests in local authorities.
The election of the Lord Mayor of Dublin will take place on Monday night.
Mr Broughan said ministers automatically ceased to hold their local authority seats.
