Promising better broadband coverage and some new gardai, the Taoiseach told delegates that it was time to forget about the past and plan for the future.

From the outset of his address to 5,000 delegates at Citywest Hotel in Dublin, Ahern outlined that his speech would not "dwell on the extraordinary achievements of the past decade" but instead "look forward to where Ireland must go in the years to come."

Speaking about Northern Ireland, he recalled that while Fianna Fail had commemorated the 1916 Rising and the Battle of the Somme this year he dismissed violence and said:

"That day is done."

"I believe that the agreement at St Andrews will finally and fully unlock the massive potential for permanent peace and progress, " said Ahern.

In an attack on the opposition parties, he rejected what he described as their "empty promises" and rejected their "course of buying your way into office by promising all things to all people".

He said that Fianna Fail would never "return to a reckless government which spends every euro today without any concern for the consequences of tomorrow". He promised to keep taxes low in a "fairer Ireland".

Reminiscing on the days when he worked in Dublin's Mater Hospital he said: "I know how hard people work in hospitals and in the community to look after patients."

He claimed that hospital waiting lists have been shortened and the government was focussing on improving A&E services.

Looking to January's launch of the new National Development Plan, Ahern said that Ireland would become a world centre for research and promised increased broadband coverage.

On crime, Ahern said that "new gardai will be deployed, where they are most needed, on the streets serving the community and fighting crime".

Ahern also spoke about improvements in transport infrastructure, the importance of investment in education, an increase in the old-age pension that will be announced in a few weeks and the importance of redeveloping vulnerable communities such as Ballymun.