The Ministry of Justice needs “new energy” after 14 years with a Fine Gael minister at the helm, Jim O’Callaghan has said.

Fianna Fail’s justice spokesman said there was a “question mark” over whether Fine Gael was the party of law and order.

The two coalition parties have publicly criticized each other since the start of the general election campaign, sparking public disputes over their policy proposals.

Fine Gael Justice Minister Helen McEntee hit back when asked about Mr O’Callaghan’s suggestion that she would have adopted a number of public order and immigration proposals he had put forward.

“I think there are probably women all over the country who will understand what it’s like when men try to reclaim their work,” she told reporters in Dublin on Friday.

Speaking at the imminent launch of Fianna Fail’s proposals to crack down on crime, Mr O’Callaghan said the Department of Justice needed “new energy” – which was a Fine Gael campaign slogan.

“I think it would have been different and sometimes political focus or political direction has a real impact in terms of a government department,” he said.

“Look at housing and look at what Eoghan Murphy said when he was in the department, you can have a well-meaning minister but if you don’t have the political focus and the political support behind it to make changes, it’s not going to happen.

“I think if we had the full ministry in the Department of Justice, I think we would have seen more progress in the justice field.

“I think that’s part of the reason why Michael (Martin) has indicated that if it comes to negotiations, if people put us in a position where we can go into government, that’s one of the portfolios that we would be interested in we follow “

Asked whether Ms McEntee had been an “ineffective” justice minister, Mr O’Callaghan said he would not personalize the criticism.

“I’m not going to personalize it at all for Minister McEntee or any Fine Gael Minister, but let’s face the statistics.

“The Department of Justice has been under the control of Fine Gael for the last almost 14 years and while progress has been made in many other areas over the last four years, I think the questions that arise in the Department of Justice about the last 14 years are growing in many ways.

“So I’m not going to personalize it for Secretary McEntee, but I think there’s a benefit to helping the Justice Department under new political control and direction because it really needs a new energy within that department.”

Asked if he was stealing Fine Gael’s title as the party of law, he said there was “a question mark” over whether Fine Gael “has traditionally been the party of law and order”.

“Certainly in this century, I think there’s a question mark about that,” he said.