The Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, challenged a Sinn Féin TD to repeat allegations of corruption against him outside the privilege of the Dáil.
In bitter and loud exchanges, Mr Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central) claimed that Mr Cullen's "scandalous disposition" was corruption. Mr Cullen, he added, "is tied up completely and totally with the crowd who are destroying this country and making money from it".
The row erupted during the second stage debate on the National Monuments (Amendment) Bill, which allows for the completion of the M50 motorway at Carrickmines.
Mr Ó Snodaigh said the Minister "is associated with complete and total crookedness, because there is no other reason for this legislation but crookedness behind it".
Mr Cullen said Sinn Féin stood for kneecapping and bombing people. "They were going around murdering people." As the exchanges continued, he challenged Mr Ó Snodaigh to make the allegations outside of the Dáil. Mr Ó Snodaigh said he would. Mr Ó Snodaigh accused the Minister of insulting him and of being the "nastiest" person in the Dáil.
Mr Ó Snodaigh accused the Government of having a policy of wanting to get rid of, or concrete over, national monuments. "That sounds very like Sinn Féin with the IRA," said Mr Cullen.
Mr Ó Snodaigh, who spoke mainly in Irish, said he had taken part in marches to save Frescati House and Wood Quay, and insisted that the Minister was not prepared to listen to him.
Mr Cullen said Sinn Féin should put aside the rhetoric "and put forward a few policies that people might vote for". Mr Ó Snodaigh said the "outrageous, shameful attitude" coming from the Minister related to every aspect of archaeology. "He destroys it because it has no value. He puts a road through it. It is scandalous that he is always doing this. He puts concrete on it."
Mr Cullen said Sinn Féin was being "like the Marxists over in Europe". Mr Ó Snodaigh said they were talking about the history and heritage of the country.
"It is scandalous that the Minister is not satisfied to listen to this House on issues of archaeology and heritage. Go up to Tara and destroy it, go down to Waterford and destroy the new site there. This is the Minister's scandalous attitude, corruption." He said crookedness or corruption was at issue in Carrickmines.