Minister for Justice Michael McDowell has said the Cabinet shared his strong criticism of RTÉ over the Prime Time programme during the week on the purchase of the site for a prison at Thornton in north Co Dublin.
The Minister said yesterday he was "hugely disappointed" the national broadcaster had departed from obligations set out in statute for the coverage of current affairs issues.
He said he had written yesterday to the RTÉ Authority "to ask them to take action to ensure that it never happens again".
"My own very strong view, and it is shared by my Cabinet colleagues because we discussed it on Wednesday, [is] that the authority must be asked to address this issue and must address the issue in a way which upholds the statutory obligations of the authority," he said.
Mr McDowell said it was not up to him to judge people's motives.
"I just know what I saw was grossly lacking in impartiality and objectivity and grossly misleading to the Irish people as to the transactions that were being described," he said.
He said the RTÉ Authority had a specific onus under the Broadcasting Act "to ensure compliance with that duty so it is up to them to decide how they propose to redress the wrong".
Meanwhile, the Irish Prison Service is seeking the advice of the Attorney General in relation to Fingal County Council's attempts to preserve Thornton Hall, on the site of the proposed new prison in north Dublin.
The council has voted to make the site an architectural conservation area (ACA) and has directed the county manager to start the process of adding Thornton Hall to the record of protected structures.
An ACA designation directs that the "character" of an area be preserved and generally prohibits demolition of structures within the area, except in exceptional circumstances.
If a building is added to the record of protected structures, further protection is afforded by making it an offence to damage the building or alter it without specific planning permission.
A spokesman for the Prison Service said it had noted the council's moves and was seeking legal advice on the implications for the prison plans.
However, he said, issues relating to the building would not prevent a prison being built.
"This is a small property within a 150-acre site. In terms of the location it's a couple of hundred yards from the main road. It would have no material effect on the development of the prison," he added.
The council would have to undertake a consultation process before it could make the site an ACA, and the Prison Service would have an opportunity to state its case at that time, he said, adding: "It is our view that the building is not of any particular architectural merit."
Fingal County Council said yesterday its conservation section has recommended that Thornton Hall should be added to the record of protected structures.
The Prison Service said it would also be seeking advice on any designation. "We have been in touch with our advisers, and our legal people will be dealing with it in due course," the spokesman said.