The Labour leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, has severely criticised the Taoiseach's handling of the taxi crisis.
"The Taoiseach, his Minister and his backbenchers have abandoned Mr Robert Molloy and are trying desperately to distance themselves from Government policy," Mr Quinn told a Labour Party women's conference at the weekend.
He also criticised the Progressive Democrats' role in the crisis. "When it comes to understanding industrial relations you cannot really fault the Progressive Democrats for their glorious ignorance. For the Taoiseach, it is a true mark of his political philosophy - expediency," he said.
"There are many taxi-drivers who feel that their investment in Fianna Fail at the last general election warranted a better return.
"Not surprisingly, the Taoiseach has disappeared when the going gets tough. In fact, he is nowhere to be seen," he said.
Mr Quinn said the Labour Party was in favour of the Government's proposal to meet the public demand for taxis. "We do not believe that the monopoly which has been so jealously guarded by the taxi industry, aided and abetted by this Taoiseach, is tenable," he said.
"It is anti-competitive and anti-consumer. We have argued for change for many years and we have taken it on the chin from the taxi lobby for doing so.
"But in advocating change, we also recognise that consultation is an essential part of the process. No group of workers should be treated in the manner in which Bobby Molloy treated taxi-drivers this week. Not surprisingly, the taxi-drivers expect better".