The Taoiseach has hailed the role wage moderation has played in Ireland's economic growth, warning against "the simple-minded pursuit of narrow sectional interest".
While not explicitly mentioning the Garda pay dispute, Mr Ahern took advantage of an invitation to launch a new book analysing the State's economic success yesterday to criticise "those who forget, or ignore, the consequences of their actions".
The pursuit of narrow sectional interest "can only lead to conflict, instability and the return to a vicious circle where leapfrogging claims undermine competitiveness, kill off jobs and reverse the positive trend in the public finances", he said.
"It is the task of Government, with the social partners, to resist these threats and to maintain a course which delivers an equitable sharing of benefits for all."
Mr Ahern was speaking at the publication of Ireland at Work: Economic Growth and the Labour Market, 1987-1997 by Mr Paul Tansey. The book, according to its publisher Oak Tree Press, "charts the course of Ireland's remarkable economic renaissance at the end of the 20th century".
Mr Tansey is managing partner of the economic consultancy firm, Tansey, Webster and Associates. He is adjunct Professor of Economics at the University of Limerick, a labour market expert for the European Commission in Ireland and formerly an assistant editor of The Irish Times.
The book, according to Mr Ahern, argues convincingly that the rapid growth in employment and the significant rise in living standards in Ireland are due to the increase in the State's productive capacity and competitiveness.
Mr Ahern said he agreed with Mr Tansey's view that the State's economic success had tended to overshadow the scale of the unemployment problem.
"The reality is that for many communities and families the benefits of the Celtic Tiger are rather remote. For them unemployment, low expectations and the realities of social exclusion continue."