There have been heated exchanges in the Dáil, with Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald accusing the Taoiseach of being 'delusional'.
Micheál Martin, meanwhile, claimed the opposition leader was trying to spread "untruths" to undermine the national effort on COVID during a debate on the minimum wage.
The Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin leaders clashed over the level of income support the Government is providing workers affected by the pandemic.
Addressing the Taoiseach, Deputy McDonald said: "Can you move beyond your sort of delusional reverie, and into the real world with us - and address those low-paid workers you've excluded from your wage subsidy scheme... those who will be hurt by your PUP payment?
"Your new wage subsidy scheme excludes 153,000 workers - workers who earn €150 a week or less.
"That hurts those workers, their employers, and you have left them out in the cold."
She said that Government cuts to the pandemic unemployment payment mean some workers are down either €50 or €100 a week.
However, Mr Martin claimed Deputy McDonald is "fundamentally wrong" about the wage subsidy scheme, saying that the State has made an "unprecedented intervention" to support people's income.
He said: "You use every situation to tell untruths, and not to tell the truth in relation to the reality out there.
"We're still at approximately 750,000 workers supported by the State, right now.
"To try to create the impression that the Government is out to get people is outrageous."
Mr Martin also rejected Deputy McDonald's criticism of the Low Pay Commission - insisting the group is "not an arm of Government" and is instead an independent commission.
