Labour leader Alan Kelly has accused Micheal Martin of “telling porkies” in the Dail.
The Taoiseach responded furiously to the charge, denying he had lied, which then prompted an indignant Mr Kelly to challenge Mr Martin: “Call me a liar, so.”
The fiery row took place during Leaders’ Questions on Wednesday afternoon.
It centred around a claim from Mr Kelly that the Taoiseach told him on Tuesday that teachers were exempt from new five-day Covid contact isolation rules.
Mr Martin strongly denies ever having told Mr Kelly this, telling a press conference on Tuesday night that Mr Kelly had “misconstructed” remarks made by him.
The argument came to a boil on the floor of the Dail chamber.
Mr Kelly started it by saying: “I have been in this House a few years and have never accused anyone of telling porkies, let alone the Taoiseach.”
The Taoiseach hit back forcefully at this not so subtle accusation that he had lied.
Mr Martin said: “I've been in the house longer than you - and you learn something new every day.
“I learned something about you yesterday that I will not forget, and that will govern our relationship from here onwards.”
This led Mr Kelly to rebut the Taoiseach again and call on him to say he was lying if he didn’t agree with him.
Mr Kelly said firmly: “If you want to call me a liar, call me a liar.”
