The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, has called on Fine Gael leader Mr Enda Kenny to retract insinuations he made about his role in the appointment of Judge Brian Curtin.
Judge Curtin is facing possible impeachment despite the collapse of a case against him on charges of possessing child pornography.
Mr Kenny yesterday said he "understands" that when Mr McDowell sat on the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board when he was Attorney General in 2001, he made "inquiries" about Mr Curitn prior to recommending his appointment to the Cabinet.
The Fine Gael leader also said Mr McDowell's party, the Progressive Democrats, or other members of the 2001 Cabinet should clarify whether they lobbied for Mr Curtin's appointment. The Judge is a former member of the PDs.
Mr McDowell today denied he had sought or received information at the time and said Mr Kenny should "stand up his understanding" or else retract the claim. He also said that to his knowledge, the PDs had never lobbied on behalf of Mr Curtin at the time of his appointment.
"As far as I know Judge Curtin's ceased to have any connection with the party a long, long time prior to that [2001] and certainly no member of the Progressive Democrats ever mentioned his suitability to be a judge to me, " Mr McDowell said.
He said Mr Kenny was engaging in "let's-see-and-deny-it" tactics.