Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath has said that Fianna Fáil will demand to be treated with respect by Fine Gael.
Coalition was about trust and respect, he told RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show.
The appointment of Katherine Zappone should not have occurred the way it did, but it won’t happen again, added Mr McGrath.
Resignation was not a proportionate response, he added.
Fine Gael TD Jennifer Carroll McNeill told the same programme that Sinn Féin had adopted a “purely populist approach” and were pursuing “pure populism in headlines”.
The issue was one of proportion and balance, she said. When Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley had sent “an appalling tweet” she had not sought his resignation, she had asked him to account for himself.
'Insider dealing'
Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin described the appointment of Katherine Zappone as “old style insider dealing”.
This was how Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael “do business”, it was their way of “doing politics”.
“This is how this Government does business.”
Mr McGrath said that Fianna Fáil was not defending the manner of the appointment. Fine Gael had made a commitment that it would not happen again. “The most important thing here is how we do business in the future.
It shouldn’t have happened, it won’t happen again.
Sinn Féin was being opportunistic, they were attempting to make things difficult for Fianna Fáil. “They’re calculating that this will cause political problems,” he added.
'Trumpian'
Ms Carroll McNeill said that Mr Ó Broin’s approach was “Trumpian” and an attempt at generating headlines.
However, Mr Ó Broin maintained that Mr Coveney’s response to the issue had not been credible and that after seven weeks there still had not been a credible response from the Government. Mr Coveney would have to address the “inconsistencies”.
“This is about how Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil continue to do business.”
