Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has expressed "amazement" and "disbelief" that in the four months since he had become Taoiseach, Enda Kenny had not a "single bilateral meeting of substance with any EU leader".
Mr Martin asked Mr Kenny: “Can you explain how people are supposed to be reassured that Ireland is well placed to take advantage of this crunch meeting when you continue to maintain a 'hands-off, hope-it-will-work-out' approach to your dealings with other EU leaders?”
He raised the issue in advance of tomorrow's emergency meeting of EU leaders to deal with the debt crisis.
But the Taoiseach rejected his comments and told the Fianna Fáil leader: "You seem to believe that the kind of telephone diplomacy that you involved yourself in for the last 14 years, which landed us in this mess, should continue."
Mr Kenny said the leaders of the EU countries "delegated responsibility for this matter to the ministers for finance, and our Minister for Finance put on the agenda that this was a bad deal for this country and a bad deal for Europe. Your people either did not attend at meetings or if they did they spoke only of Ireland’s narrow interests".
The Taoiseach said: "I will speak to all of the euro zone leaders tomorrow when I have that opportunity to remind them of how this country has measured up against the conditions and terms which are quite austere and challenging of the loan repayment situation that we find ourselves in from the EU-IMF."
Asked what he wanted from the EU emergency leaders' meeting Mr Kenny said: "What I want to see is that countries like ours in this situation are seen and be seen to receive support from the EU leaders."
He was seeking "a series of decisions that will start to bring about certainty in the investing markets both in European countries and here".
"This will not reach a full conclusion tomorrow but I hope it’s the start of a process that will bring some certainty to this situation.”