Micheál Martin has told a special Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting that the Government was out of touch, reactive and lacked direction.
The Fianna Fáil leader told his party think-in that the Government had been out of touch and without direction across a range of issues.
He said there had been no preparation for Brexit, the Apple ruling, nor a strategy for the rash of transport strikes.
Ministers, he said, did not understand either that people were fed up with Government by spin and short term maneuvering.
Earlier though he told journalists that the agreement that saw his party keeping the Government in office did not envisage any budget surprises and he did not see any reason why next month's package of measures should bring down the administration.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Mr Martin told journalists that the confidence and supply deal his party had agreed with Fine Gael made it clear there would be no surprises in the budget measures.
He confirmed his party would seek increases in the State pension, saying Fianna Fáil made no apology for supporting older people. However, he said education would have to be a major priority as well.
He said Fianna Fáil would not be backing a Sinn Féin motion to abolish water charges which he described as "play acting".
Mr Martin insisted that only legislation could do away with the charges and his party was sticking by the provisions of the deal that saw it support having an independent commission examine the issue.
The party is meeting in Carlow in the latest political gathering ahead of the new Dáil term, where it is due to hear presentations on the economy, Brexit and social media.
Fianna Fáil has been on a roll since the General Election earlier this year.
But it has had to walk a tightrope, supporting the Government while carving out political space to maintain clear blue water between Fianna Fáil and the current administration.
The forthcoming Budget and the fallout from Brexit will pose particular challenges.
But much of the talk in the margins of the think-in will centre on how the party should be positioned in the event of a political accident upending that view.
Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil's spokesperson on Housing, Planning and Local Government denied that the party has performed a U-turn on water charges.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Sean O'Rourke, Barry Cowen said its position remains the same as the one contained in its election manifesto.
Not surprisingly morale is high at this gathering, which boasts 44 Fianna Fáil TDs rather that the 21 the party could muster before the election.
They are hearing presentations on education, housing and job creation as well as learning about Twitter safety and best practice.
