Regina Doherty has been accused of telling "porkie pies" after she claimed to have protected employees' tips on her election literature.
The Minister for Social Protection leaflets outlined a number of achievements she claimed to have made since taking office in 2016, including ensuring that tips paid to hospitality employees were not withheld by their employers.
But Sinn Fein Senator Paul Gavan has slammed Minister Doherty's claim saying that she in fact blocked a Sinn Fein bill that would have made it illegal for employers to withhold tips.
He said: "Our bill would have made it illegal for employers to withhold tips.
"It passed all stages in the Seanad before being blocked by Minister Doherty via a money message.
"Far from ensuring tips are paid to employees, Minister Doherty has sided with employers to oppose such legislation and the record in the Dail and Seanad shows this to be true."
He continued: "I know the election is now on and politicians will try and claim credit for all sorts of things but this is a clear case of a Minister telling porkie pies to claim credit for something she did not do.”
“What she says in this leaflet flies in the face of the facts. The Minister has not passed any Bill in this regard and needs to publicly withdraw this statement.”
Minister Doherty rejected Sinn Fein's claims and said the Government have approved a draft Heads of a Bill which will regulate practices around tips and gratuities.
She said: "The Government has approved these reforms, we have a bill being drafted and I am confident that when the Dáil returns, we will have widespread support to pass it quickly.
"As I said previously, I will not tolerate workers being deprived of tips on my watch and now, having received approval from Government, I look forward to introducing measures which will improve the situation and, crucially, have a sound legal basis.
"I am determined to always stand up for fairness and the employment rights of low paid and precarious workers.
"I made significant progress in this regard with the Employment Act 2018 which restricted zero hours contracts and introduced banded hours contracts. Unlike Sinn Fein, we deliver real reforms not rhetoric."
