Sinn Féin defends plan to investigate RTÉ, comparing it to BBC reviews

James Cox

Sinn Féin is defending its plan to launch an independent review of RTÉ’s coverage of international conflicts.

The measure, contained in the party’s manifesto, is being branded by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil as a “concerning” and “dangerous departure”.

Sinn Féin says it would set out the terms of reference of the review panel in consultation with RTÉ and staff unions.

Sinn Féin TD Louise O’Reilly said it would be similar to recent reviews of the BBC.

Ms O'Reilly told Newstalk: "There's no harm in any organisation reviewing their practices and their procedures. We want RTÉ to be robust, we want them to be accountable, and we want them to be the best source of trusted information.

"An independent peer review, as we have suggested, is designed to do just that. It's not intended to have a chilling effect at all."

Arriving separately for a Cabinet meeting at Government Buildings in Dublin on Wednesday, Taoiseach Simon Harris and Tánaiste Micheál Martin both raised concerns over the proposed examination of how Ireland’s national broadcaster has covered the bloodshed in Gaza and its reporting on other war zones.

The Taoiseach said: “I just can’t imagine this scenario in any functioning democracy that a political party that wants to lead a government would put in its manifesto, in its list of political promises to the Irish people, that it will establish an independent review of RTÉ’s objectivity and news coverage.”

Mr Martin said he was “shocked” by the proposal.

“Political parties can’t be setting up committees to investigate the media,” he said.

“We may all have complaints and so on like that. But this is a dangerous new departure. It’s almost a threat to the media, really, that you know ‘we’ll be coming after you, because we don’t believe you are being objective’."