Fianna Fáil TD Ned O'Keeffe has called on the Taoiseach to resign, claiming he has lost the confidence of the public.
In a statement issued last night, the Cork East TD said that while he fully accepted that Mr Cowen had the "best interests of the country at heart", the time had come for him to step down.
"The country is experiencing the worst economic crisis of our lifetime but we do not have the strong leadership that is required to address the many major problems," he said.
He said the decision to inject further billions of euros into the banks in the same month that the carers allowance was reduced “is totally unacceptable”.
He claimed ordinary people are being “shouldered with the cost of the appalling decisions that have brought this country to its knees”.
Mr O’Keeffe, who has previously called for the resignation of Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan, said Ireland’s future was being squandered. He claimed the Government had no overall strategic plan for the banking sector, two years after the crisis began.
He also said there was “insufficient expertise” in the Department of Finance to make and take the right decisions and lack of a stimulus package was preventing Irish businesses and entrepreneurs from returning the country to growth.
Referring to the recent AIB High Court hearing which saw journalists ejected from proceedings, Mr O'Keeffe said the powers vested in the Minister for Finance by himself have “all the hallmarks of a dictatorship”. He said there is far too much secrecy and too little transparency in the way Government conducts its business.