Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has challenged Taoiseach Enda Kenny to withdraw his "partisan slur'' that the previous government had shredded records relating to the banking crisis.

"There was no attempt to shred any records,'' said Mr Martin. "You should be man enough to accept that is the case and you should withdraw that assertion.''

Mr Martin said that in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, the secretary general of the Department of the Taoiseach had said that, as far as he was concerned, it was fully in compliance with its legal responsibility to keep records.

Mr Kenny said he did not engage in low, partisan politics, adding that a non-partisan and all-party Oireachtas committee had been set up to investigate the banking collapse.

He insisted that many of the documents were “inconsequential’’, adding they related to the days leading up to the most momentous economic decision ever made in the State’s history.

“I would have expected that at a time when this country was entering into both a background and process of a really difficult economic recession, there would have been regular meetings about the seriousness of this,’’ he added. “But that is not the case.’’

Mr Kenny said there was one letter of substance which, he believed, Mr Martin had in his possession.

Mr Martin insisted that there were “consequential documents’’ available, such as government memos.