The Green Party has called on Tánaiste Michael McDowell to withdraw marks made in the Dáil today in which he accused the Green Party chairman John Gormley of "behaving like a fascist".
Green Party whip Dan Boyle said: "In exchanges this morning, Deputy Gormley said that in allocating tax breaks for private nursing homes the Government was putting profit before people.
Dan Boyle
"Mr McDowell said that Deputy Gormley was 'blinded by ideology and should stop behaving like a fascist'."
Mr Boyle said he will raise the issue of Mr McDowell's comments with the Ceann Comhairle and request that the Committee on Procedure and Privileges convene to discuss the issue as a matter of urgency.
"This is not the first time that Minister McDowell has used the privilege of the Dáil to make slanderous remarks about my colleague.
"In March this year the Minister said that Deputy Gormley's 'type of people' has ransacked the Progressive Democrats' head office, a remark for which he refused to apologise and only very reluctantly withdrew. This morning's remark is further evidence that the Tánaiste is a loose cannon and has little respect for the conventions of the House.
"This is a Minister who accused another colleague of behaving like Joseph Goebbels, another infamous fascist figure. The Tánaiste has apparently learned nothing from that particular episode and feels that he can insult with total impunity," Mr Boyle said.
"The Minister must withdraw this remark without delay. His behaviour sets a very low standard for debate in Dáil Éireann," Mr Boyle added.
Mr McDowell, who lost his Dáil seat to the Green Party's John Gormley after a lengthy recount in the 1997 general election, has a history of spats with his now constituency colleague.
In March this year, he withdrew his remark that Mr Gormley's "type of people" had been responsible for attacking the Progressive Democrats' headquarters during the riots at the "Love Ulster" parade. He withdrew the allegation on RTÉ radio and later shook Mr Gormley's hand in the Dáil chamber.
However, Mr Gormley later accused Mr McDowell of effectively "repeating the smear" and of attempting to make the same claim on RTÉ's Prime Timeprogramme just hours after his withdrawal.