The Taoiseach has expressed disappointment at the progress made in the Northern talks over the past five weeks and said he "agreed 100 per cent" with Mr Seamus Mallon that time was running out.
Speaking in Letterkenny yesterday, Mr Ahern said he had talked to the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, on Thursday night and would speak to him again either later yesterday or today.
"I would have to say that the progress that I hoped we would have made by now has not been made," Mr Ahern said.
He said that they had not got everything on "the key areas that were not completed in the Good Friday agreement - the issues of getting the police service back to Patten, and getting an understanding on demilitarisation and decommissioning."
"But do you ever get every single thing in negotiations? I do think we have made substantive progress," Mr Ahern said.
Mr Ahern was in Letterkenny to open new premises of two local newspapers, the Donegal Democrat and the Donegal People's Press, both owned by the Trinity Mirror group.
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein said yesterday that a "significant gap" remained between the party and the British government as attempts continued to overcome the impasse over policing, demilitarisation and IRA arms.
Mr Gerry Kelly said the "hard reality" was that matters had yet to be resolved on key areas of policing, including democratic accountability, symbols and emblems, repression, representativeness and powers of inquiry.
A party spokesman said the policing issue was viewed as "the passport to allow you open the door to access the remaining issues".
Talks are expected to intensify next week. The UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, returns from a visit to the US on Monday. SDLP negotiators said they had no plans for weekend meetings.
Commenting on remarks by Mr Trimble in Washington yesterday that consideration should be given to putting the process into review, the SDLP's spokesman on policing, Mr Alex Attwood, said "every possibility must be exhausted" first.
Earlier, the SDLP deputy leader, Mr Seamus Mallon, dismissed claims that his party was unreasonable not to nominate members to the new Police Board until its concerns on policing were met.