Richard Chambers has said that Minister Stephen Donnelly was personally asked for an interview for his book on the pandemic so far.
Speaking on RTE's Prime Time, Mr Donnelly dismissed the Virgin Media reporter's book and said it was "disappointing".
A State of Emergency details the Covid pandemic and features interviews with several key public health and government officials about how Covid-19 was handled over the past 18 months.
Asked whether he had agreed with how the book portrayed the pandemic and the various responses from officials, Mr Donnelly was blunt.
He said: "No, not at all. "Richard's book, I haven't read it, I won't be reading it. The bits I've seen are bits from anonymous sources.
"The bits that I've seen certainly don't marry with my experience...so I think it was disappointing."
But now, the news correspondent has fired back at the Minister - saying that he had asked Mr Donnelly personally for an interview.
He tweeted: "Many, many hours of interviews with senior members of NPHET, HSE and officials and Ministers in government. The Minister in question was asked personally and through his advisor for follow-up interview…" in response to Mr Donnelly's comments.
That was a follow-up to an initial tweet with the Prime Time tag from the author.
A further 3,726 cases of the virus were confirmed in Ireland on Tuesday evening by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).
The Department of Health says there are now 493 people in hospital, with 90 of those in ICU.
The 14-day incidence stands at 695 per 100,000, an increase of 18% on last week.
Minister Donnelly warned that “we have to be concerned that things will deteriorate further” in terms of the virus.
It comes as the Government will on Wednesday night seek to extend emergency Covid-19 powers until February 9, 2022.
