The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern last night stressed the merits of decentralisation and rural housing as he outlined his party's plans for June's local and European elections to delegates at the Fianna Fáil Ard Fhéis.
In his leader's address at the 68th Fianna Fail ard fheis Mr Ahern warned the republican movement that all paramilitary activity must be completely halted and called for unionism to sign up to partnership government.
The Fianna Fail leader also used the platform to accuse opposition parties of trying to buy quick popularity by ignoring hard realities, and said this would never happen under his Government
He said decentralisation was not only good for the regions but good for Government, because it would bring it closer to the people and ease congestion in the capital.
He also referred to the recent decision to allow more one-off rural housing and said his party believed people who were born, live or contributed to a particular area, should be allowed to build homes there.
On the peace process, Mr Ahern said the republican movement must commit itself to exclusively peaceful means and said all Irish people demanded a complete end to republican paramilitary activity.
"The full potential for peace is there to be grasped," he told a packed City West Conference Centre in Dublin.
"But there can be no half-way house between democracy and violence. There is no comfortable resting place between exclusion and partnership."
Mr Ahern said the British and Irish governments and the Northern Ireland parties had worked their way through issue after issue since the Belfast Agreement was signed in 1998.
"What remains to be done now is as clear as it ever could be," he said.
"For the republican movement, this means an absolute commitment to exclusively peaceful means.
"It means the complete retirement of all paramilitary activity. Nationalist Ireland, this republican party, the Irish people, demand no less.
"For unionism it means signing up to partnership government on a cross-community basis. It means taking responsibility for the equivalent transformation of loyalism into exclusively democratic channels."