Tánaiste Brian Cowen has characterised as opportunistic a claim by Fine Gael that he has gone to ground following the collapse of global markets yesterday.
Fine Gael yesterday focused most of its criticisms on the Minister for Finance with deputy leader Richard Bruton suggesting that Mr Cowen had disappeared from view and had no plan to counter the looming recession.
Mr Cowen's spokesman last night dismissed the claim, saying that the Tánaiste was "most appropriately" at the Ecofin meeting in Brussels involving all EU finance ministers.
"That is the appropriate place for the Minister to be when there is a major international crisis discussing developments with his fellow ministers." The spokesman also said that Mr Cowen had given a detailed press briefing to Irish reporters yesterday.
Mr Bruton, Fine Gael's finance spokesman, was highly critical of Mr Cowen's response to the crisis. "Where is Brian Cowen's strategy to insulate the Irish economy from the worst excesses of the global downturn? We had a 'hit and hope' Budget from the Minister for Finance but since then he has gone to ground.
"No one expects an Irish minister for finance to rectify downturns in the global stock market, but there has been no preparation to protect our competitiveness, control public spending and deliver real value for taxpayers."
In the course of a hard-hitting statement, Mr Bruton also accused the Tánaiste of squandering Ireland's prosperity during his time at the Department of Finance.
"In a three-year period at the helm, Brian Cowen has succeeded in blowing the boom and leaving us more exposed than ever to a volatile global economy."