MR Mervyn Taylor has severely criticised Prof Paul J. Cannon for saying that people with certain disabilities should not be permitted to enter the medical profession.
The Minister for Equality and Law Reform said the National University of Ireland should formally dissociate itself from the comments, which he felt were "retrograde". Prof Cannon is chairman of the Convocation (graduates' association) of NUI.
The Minister said: "I believe these comments to be indicative of attitudes which are outdated and divisive. Unfortunately, this is yet another example of what so many people with disabilities have had to put up with for so long - stereotyping because of disability rather than cherishing people for their ability."
Prof Cannon's remarks were reported in the Irish Medical limes, where he said he was speaking in a personal capacity.
He said medical school entry had become so competitive that Ireland should restrict places to those with "reasonable clear bills of health". He questioned whether a medical school should train a student with an incapacitating form of psychomotor disease.
"It sounds awful, and it sounds like a slippery slope, I know, but I can't see how you can justify someone who can barely walk doing medicine," said Prof Cannon, a former head of departments at the UCD and UCC medical schools.
Some diabetics, too, might face a similar ban, he suggested. "Severe diabetics can't make very good judgments when they're within an hour of lunch," he said.
He believed his views reflected not only the best interests of the health services but also of severely disabled students themselves.
"Is society really being treated fairly? Are they being treated fairly?" he asked.
Mr Taylor was speaking at the launch in Cork of a survey of people with multiple sclerosis in Counties Cork and Kerry. He said he believed the Employment and Equality Bill and the forthcoming Equal Status Bill, combined with the expected recommendations of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities, will usher in a new era for Irish people with disabilities.
"At a time when there is an acknowledgment that Irish people with disabilities should not be marginalised and that they should be given the opportunity to participate as fully as possible in Irish society, the reported remarks of Prof Cannon are, in my view, a retrograde step.
The professor's views, the Minister said, contrasted sharply with the positive attitude to disability which was evident, for example, in UCC.
"There, a culture of support and encouragement for people with disabilities is firmly in place. These comments are a bitter blow to the efforts of UCC and many other organisations and individuals. I believe that the NUI should formally disassociate itself from them.