The Minister for Justice has said he is "appalled" by the coverage of the appointment of two judges to the High Court by Independent Newspapers.
Alan Shatter stressed the importance of upholding the independence and integrity of the judiciary and warned such coverage could discourage well-qualified and competent individuals from seeking appointment to important positions by the State.
In a statement the Minister said: "It is of the utmost importance that there be no doubt as to both the independence and integrity of our judiciary or of those appointed to judicial office.
"Circuit Judge Michael White is being appointed by the Government to the High Court, as have other circuit court judges in the past, because of his competence and excellence as a circuit judge who has carried out his constitutional and statutory duties in a manner beyond reproach. Mr Kevin Cross SC is being appointed to the High Court in compliance with a recommendation made by the Judicial Advisory Appointments Board. He is a senior counsel of substantial experience with impeccable credentials.
"Any suggestion that either appointment is based on anything other than merit or has any base or hidden motive is completely untrue and grossly unfair to those appointed," Mr Shatter said.
The Government announced on Tuesday it was nominating both men for appointment to the High Court by the President.
Judge White, a former solicitor and Dáil candidate for the Workers Party, the majority of which later became Democratic Left and then merged with the Labour Party, has served as a Circuit Court judge since 1996. He presided over the "Annabel's" case, in which four young men were charged with the killing of Brian Murphy outside a disco. He has also chaired the Courts Service committee on family law.
Mr Cross qualified as a barrister in 1975 and became a senior counsel in 1997. He is married to Circuit Court judge Allison Lindsay.
It emerged yesterday that he made a contribution of €1,200 in 2010 to the election campaign of Junior Minister for Europe Lucinda Creighton.