The Minister of State for Transport, Mr Ivor Callely, has claimed he is "at one" with Mr Cullen in spite of a public rebuke from his senior Minister.
The rivalry between the Ministers in Transport House took a new turn in the Dáil on Tuesday when Mr Cullen accused his junior colleague of "guesswork" over press announcements which he said were not based on fact.
But Mr Callely said last night he was on the same side as Mr Cullen and there was no question of him pursuing a different agenda to that of the senior Minister. "As far as I'm concerned I'm a team player. I've absolutely no issue with Martin Cullen. I'm a team player. I have a mandate which I outlined just there," he said.
With some on the Fianna Fáil benches joking of the working relationship between the two men as "the battle of the platform shoes", Mr Cullen ridiculed Mr Callely in the Dáil by saying his commitment "sometimes overruns with enthusiasm".
Annoyed that the junior Minister had referred to plans for a metro in Dublin as a fait accompli when the Government has not yet decided to proceed with such a plan, Mr Cullen said he was sure that Mr Callely would support the Cabinet's proposals enthusiastically whenever they were made public.
Mr Cullen's public dismissal of his colleague's remarks led Labour to question Mr Callely's suitability for office.
Senator Derek McDowell, who is based in Mr Callely's Dublin North-Central constituency, suggested that his promises were fast earning him the nickname "Calamity Callely".
"Serious questions must be asked when a Minister of State thinks he can make announcements about Government initiatives that are, in fact, all in his own imagination," he said.
But Mr Callely insisted that there was no difference between him and Mr Cullen.
Mr Cullen's spokesman declined to comment.
