Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar has been accused of claiming water meters were Fine Gael's "e-voting machines multiplied by 10".

Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin said Mr Varadkar made the comments during negotiations with his party.

Mr Varadkar insisted Mr Martin had taken him out of context.

He told The Irish Times: "Micheál Martin was not present for any of the talks so he may not have a full picture of the discussions.

“ The point I was making was that €500 million worth of public money has been spent putting water meters into the ground.

“Metering is the most effective way to identify leaks and promote conservation by allowing people to monitor how much water they use. I think it would be a real waste if they weren’t used.”

Fianna Fáil TD Barry Cowen, who was part of the negotiation team, said Mr Martin was accurate in his portrayal of events.

“He described our position as ridiculous. Who is ridiculous now?”

Speaking on RTÉ radio Mr Martin said he was surprised that the water issue was what received the most condemnation in relation to the talks.

However, he claimed a government could not have been formed if the issue was not dealt with.

The party leader said Mr Varadkar had been “dishonest” in his portrayal of the talks.

On the issue of Irish Water, Mr Martin said every deputy should uphold the law.

“I always said people should pay their charges. It is the law of the land,” he said.

“The problem is that as a utility model it was excessive. GAA and rugby families were going to get creamed. There should have been an ability to pay clause.”