The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, has described as reckless and irresponsible a call to change the law in relation to possession of cannabis.
In a strong attack he said the deputy leader of the Labour Party, Mr Brendan Howlin, should have "studied the facts about cannabis before promoting the free use of the drug".
Mr Howlin had said there was something unacceptable about criminalising people for having cannabis. He added that there was merit in examining the recent development in this area in Britain.
However, the Minister said Mr Howlin's view that it was unacceptable to criminalise people for having cannabis would not inspire confidence among parents who were deeply concerned about the availability of drugs in Ireland.
"Changing the law will not change the fact that cannabis is a dangerous drug," he said.
"Mr Howlin is committed to the cheap and easy option of addressing the drugs problem, and his comments represent a mindless bid to make himself and his party more appealing to certain sections of the electorate."
A spokesman for the Labour Party said Mr Howlin's intention had been to promote debate on the matter, but that Mr O'Donoghue had chosen not to respond in kind.
When asked, the spokesman said that the party leader, Mr Ruair∅ Quinn had no problem with Mr Howlin's remarks.
Mr Quinn admitted in an interview some time ago that he had tried cannabis.
But the Minister said Mr Howlin, the Labour justice spokesman, had completely ignored the strong body of evidence which suggested, for example, that cannabis was six or seven times more likely to cause cancer than cigarettes.
"He has ignored its hallucogenic properties, that it could trigger schizophrenia, that it causes bronchitis, can produce alarming psychotic episodes lasting several days, and that it is a proven gateway drug to more serious drugs," he said.