Gerry Adams has told RTÉ News that remarks made by the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, had been enormously damaging to relations between his party and the Government.
Last week, Mr Ahern said that members of Sinn Féin could have known in advance about IRA plans to rob the Northern Bank in Belfast before Christmas.
Mr Adams said Sinn Féin would not be used as 'Patsies' in the peace process.
However, this evening, the Minister for Justice, Michael Mc Dowell, sharply criticised the Sinn Féin leadership.
In a statement, Mr McDowell said Mr Adams and Mr McGuinness had made a career in the peace process of over-promising and under-delivering.
He also said Sinn Féin was in a state of denial about the true implications of the Good Friday Agreement for paramilitarism and criminality.
