TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen said no offence was intended in his weekend remarks relating to the role played by Fine Gael and Labour in the Yes campaign for the Lisbon Treaty.
Mr Cowen said he had responded to a question about a Sunday newspaper opinion poll.
"If there are some people who take offence, I am sorry that they are taking offence. But none was intended. I can do no more than say that. That is the truth of the matter." The Taoiseach added that what others said about him at the weekend did not worry him.
"I indicated, in my response, that I had every confidence that we would all be working hard to make sure we would get this through."
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said that, as reported, the Taoiseach's remarks had caused "a great deal of antagonism and difficulty for people who support the Yes campaign and who are not supporters of Fianna Fáil".
He asked Mr Cowen to withdraw the remarks "in the interests of harmony and running a cohesive Yes campaign from all the parties who support it".
Mr Kenny said that the Taoiseach had said that his party was the most pro-European in the campaign and that other parties, including Fine Gael and Labour, should "crank up their campaigns to the level of the Fianna Fáil campaign".
Earlier, Mr Kenny said that the treaty had Fine Gael's full support since it was first agreed.
"Right from the outset, the Taoiseach is aware that I have openly and publicly advised the public, and the supporters of this party, to set aside any differences with the Government on this issue and to vote and campaign strongly for the treaty."
He said that recent opinion polls had highlighted the difficulty of those campaigning for a Yes vote in getting across the message so that people were fully informed.
From that perspective, said Mr Kenny, he believed it was very necessary that all the parties supporting the Lisbon Treaty would co-operate fully.
Mr Kenny added that he would continue to put the country first and campaign vigorously right through to the end of the campaign for a Yes vote.
"I want to say to you, however . . . and this is nothing personal, obviously . . . I was disappointed at the tenor and import of the remarks made by you at the weekend in regard to Fine Gael, and the Labour party . . . for whom I do not speak on the matter . . . about the effort that good people all over the country are putting into the campaign and the antagonism people have felt who are supporting a Yes campaign, but are not supporters of Fianna Fáil . . ."
He urged the Taoiseach to clear the matter up, to withdraw the remarks, and to say he was encouraging everybody supporting the Yes campaign to continue doing so.
Mr Cowen said he did not understand what the issue was for Mr Kenny.
He had responded to a question about an opinion poll, and he had urged all the parties who supported the referendum to intensify the campaign.
Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said there were occasions when the Taoiseach, in the country's interest, should resist the temptation to give the Opposition parties a kick every time he saw them.
