Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has denied that there has been a cover-up of a controversial gathering in his department when social distancing rules were breached.
Mr Coveney told the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs that there was a very public mistake and a public acknowledgment of that by the then secretary general, Niall Burgess.
Sinn Féin TD John Brady compared the decision to carry out an internal review of the event to the initiation of an external inquiry into an alleged incident at McKee Barracks, which is being investigated by a senior counsel.
He accused the minister of "double standards" in his perception of accountability and transparency.
Committee chair Charlie Flanagan objected to the line of questioning.
Mr Coveney said there was "absolutely no cover-up" and Mr Burgess had made a very public mistake and had publicly acknowledged that.
The minister was appearing before the committee to answer questions on a gathering with drinks in Iveagh House on 17 June 2020.
It happened on the night that Ireland learned it had been successful in its bid for a seat on the UN Security Council.
Mr Burgess tweeted a photo of the event but later deleted it.
The minister said that with the benefit of hindsight, he should have formally raised a controversial gathering in his department when it happened 19 months ago.
Mr Coveney said that he originally saw the breach as "a careless mistake" and the agenda moved on the next day.
He confirmed that he did not raise it with the Mr Burgess at the time - something Mr Brady said was "bizarre".
The minister responded: "Of course with the benefit of hindsight 19 months later, it would have been appropriate for me to raise it with the Secretary General to understand the background to it.
"We had the kind of relationship where I trusted him."
