Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik has said former taoiseach Leo Vardakar's claim that immigration to Ireland has risen too quickly is "a really new low".
Ms Bacik described the comment as "deeply inappropriate and unhelpful".
In an interview with Notre Dame University's student newspaper, The Observer, Mr Varadkar said: "The majority of people think that the numbers have been too big in recent years, and they're right.
"A country of 5 million people seeing its population rise by 2% a year, which is what’s happening at the moment, is too fast."
In the interview, Mr Varadkar also pointed out the economic benefits of migration and warned against rising prejudice and populism in Ireland.
He has confirmed to RTÉ News the accuracy of the comments attributed to him.
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Speaking at a Labour Party event, Ms Bacik said that Mr Varadkar's comments fail to take in the "horrific" war in Ukraine and the need to provide shelter to those fleeing conflict or the fact that employers and communities are "crying out" for workers.
"Every hospital, every healthcare facility, every school, every childcare facility is looking for staff. I think these comments were deeply unhelpful. It is a new low," the Labour leader said.
"We saw the Taoiseach's comments last week appearing to conflate homelessness with migration ... and we criticised those. In Labour we have always stood for a fair and equitable immigration system."
