Fianna Fáil TD Timmy Dooley has come under fire after blaming the Taoiseach for "failing to engage" with Boris Johnson six days after his appointment as British Prime Minister.
Mr Dooley was responding on Twitter to a news article which said that Mr Johnson had "snubbed" Leo Varadkar by failing to contact him in recent days.
"The stand off with our nearest neighbour is as a direct result of Taoiseach Varadkar's failure to engage in basic diplomacy over the past 2 years," he wrote.
"The Government's lack of experience and arrogance will hurt Ireland in the coming months."
The Clare TD and Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Communications, The Environment and Natural Resources received criticism from both sides of the political divide following his comments this morning.
Fine Gael Senators Catherine Noone and Neale Richmond branded his sentiments as "petty".
Senator Noone said it was "no time for this kind of petty party politics". "This statement is inaccurate and unhelpful," she said.
Senator Richmond went further and said it was "unfortunate but not surprising to see Fianna Fáil rolling out the petty and personalised jobes".
Replying to Mr Dooley he said: "So your solution? Rip open the Withdrawal Agreement, bin the backstop, engage in bilateral negotiations, turn our back on EU solidarity, plan for a hard border, abandon the protections of the GFA? Good to see you join the Daily Express school of thought!"
Labour also berated Fianna Fáil, with party leader Brendan Howlin saying it was "not the time for playing politics".
"The risk of a hard Brexit has never been higher. Our focus should be on preparing for the potential economic shock," he said.
The party's health spokesman Alan Kelly said Fianna Fáil had gone "full circle putting the party before the country once again".
Yesterday Boris Johnson's failure to contact the Taoiseach was branded "discourteous and offensive" by Sinn Fein.
Following on from this, the party's own Communications spokesperson David Cullinane condemned Mr Dooley's phrasing as a "strange move and bad politics".
"Fianna Fáil and Timmy Dooley are full of inconsistencies when it comes to Brexit. Giving succour to Boris Johnson and siding with the hard right and staunch Brexiteers in British politics is hardly defending Irish interests," he said.
Tensions between the Irish and UK governments over the Brexit stand-off have risen in recent days amid comments by Mr Johnson that the backstop arrangement "is dead".
A spokesman for the Taoiseach said yesterday that he hoped the men would speak in the "near future".
