Senior Progressive Democrats yesterday rejected claims that their party's 2002 election manifesto had contained any bogus promises, with a senior backbencher suggesting the fault for any deception lay with Fianna Fáil.
The Tánaiste, Ms Harney, yesterday challenged people to find anything untruthful or dishonest in last year's manifesto.
Meanwhile, Ms Liz O'Donnell TD said the Progressive Democrats "didn't make promises we couldn't keep".
However, the Irish National Teachers' Organisation and the Green Party both disputed these claims.
An INTO spokesman said the PDs had promised a school- building capital budget of over €200 million within three years. "Their first act in Government in relation to this was to vote to reduce the allocation in the last Budget."
He said Ms Harney "must meet her party's commitment to ensure that every primary school in the country reaches an acceptable standard within three years."
He said that to fulfil this promise would take €300 million per annum for five years, rather than the €200 million promised by the PDs.
Green Party deputy Mr Eamon Ryan said Ms O'Donnell's comments were "a fine example of the black art of political back-stabbing".
He said the PDs had promised to develop the Community Employment Programme, but had in fact halved it. They had promised the completion of Luas in 2003, although it would not now be ready until at least 2004. They had pledged to reopen closed rail services, yet none of this was happening.
"Like Lady Macbeth, Deputy O'Donnell's hands are stained by the conning of the Irish electorate. Perhaps when you are ensconced on the high moral ground you don't need to read or believe your own election manifesto," Mr Ryan said.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Ms Harney said her party had drawn attention during the election campaign to the changing economic circumstances.
"We did talk about the need to reduce significantly the growth in public expenditure. All of that has happened. There was no dishonesty.
"Maybe some people were not as aware of the economic circumstances as they should have been. But the reality is the Government was re-elected. That is going to cause a certain level of disquiet among the Opposition parties. One thing is certain, notwithstanding the difficulties for the Government, nobody is voting for Fine Gael, there is nobody clamouring at the doors to get Fine Gael into office or indeed to put an alternative government into office."
Earlier, Ms O'Donnell said that Government backbenchers had been "getting it in the neck" over broken promises on school- building programmes and other matters.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme she said: "In fairness, people have a right to be annoyed about that, but as a party the Progressive Democrats tend not to make those sort of promises when we know we can't sustain them and we in the last election were straight with the people.
"We didn't make promises we couldn't keep. And I think that sort of politics has gone out with button boots and I think the electorate is much more discerning and much more willing to criticise and take retribution in due course."