Taoiseach Micheal Martin was caught out in an embarrassing Dail gaffe after he claimed the banks were not bailed out following the 2008 financial crisis.
In 2010, Irish banks were given upwards of €64 billion in State liquidity, borrowed from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The figure, then equal to 40% of Ireland's economy, will continue to be paid for generations to come.
Mr Martin shocked the Opposition benches on Wednesday when he denied what took place was a bailout.
He told the Dail: "The banks were not bailed out. Shareholders in the banks were not bailed out.
"The State took equity. The shareholders were not bailed out. That is not a popular thing to say, but it is a fact."
However Solidarity-PBP TD Paul Murphy shared a clip from a speech by Mr Martin in February 2018, where the Cork politician admitted that banks had in fact been bailed out by the state.
Mr Murphy added: "Michael Martin knows we bailed out the banks. He was in the government that did that.
"Rather than burn bondholders who gambled on the banks, they decided to burn our public services. We can't repeat that in 2021. This time let's bail out workers and public services, not the CEOs."
The controversy began after the Taoiseach responded to a question from People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett, who was raising the issue of striking workers at Debenhams who have been made redundant.
He said a €3 million Government offer for retraining was an insult, noting that the Government had found €64 billion to bail out the banks.
He said: "The failure by the Government to ensure justice for these workers is appalling.
"I remind the Taoiseach that he said he could not put money on the table because it would set a precedent.
"The sum of €18 million is owed to the State by Debenhams. The Taoiseach did not mind setting a precedent when it came to bailing out banks to the tune of €64 billion.
"There was no moral hazard there or no worry about the implications, but when it comes to workers who have worked for decades, who have done nothing wrong, and who are entitled to the two plus two, agreed with Debenhams, we cannot underwrite them."
