Committee on Finance. - Adjournment Debate: Radio Éireann Announcer. – Dáil Éireann (14th Dáil) – Tuesday, 17 Nov 1953

Committee on Finance. - Adjournment Debate: Radio Éireann Announcer.

Mr. O. Flanagan

At question time to-day I addressed a question to the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs asking for certain information. My reason for doing so was that the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs is responsible to this House for the administration of wireless broadcasting. He is responsible for its full administration and for the activities of the staffs; and, he is also responsible for the manner in which the funds which this House votes to him for expenditure on wireless broadcasting are administered. This afternoon I asked the Minister:—

"if he will state for what reason the appointment of Mr. Patrick Begley, temporary Radio Éireann announcer, was terminated; why he was given a week's notice of the termination of his appointment; if he was satisfactory in discharge of his duties; whether complaints were received in regard to him; and, if so, from what source, and if Mr. Begley was under consideration for permanent appointment."

I further asked the Minister:—

"if he will give the date of the temporary appointment to the Radio Éireann staff of Mr. Patrick Begley; further, if he will state whether he was at the time of his appointment considered the most suitable personand if he passed the necessary tests with very high honours."

Then I inquired from the Minister:—

"if he considers one permanent announcer sufficient for Radio Éireann and if he proposes to make further appointments to the announcing staff; further, if he will state what is the method of making such appointments; and on whose recommendation such appointments are made."

This was the Minister's reply:—

"I do not intervene in the operations of broadcasting unless important questions of policy are involved. I have not, therefore, asked the director for his reason for engaging or terminating the services of a temporary announcer or about the appointment of announcers generally. If the Deputies who put the questions wish particularly to have information in the matter I suggest they should address an inquiry to the director of broadcasting."

I respectfully submit in all sincerity that the Minister is the person with whom we Deputies can have contact in this House. I do not consider that it is either right or proper for me as a Deputy of Dáil Éireann to have to ask for information from the director of broadcasting when the Minister appointed by this House to administer wireless broadcasting is present. It is his job to provide the information for the House. He says he only intervenes when important questions of policy are involved. At no time has there been involved such an important question of policy as in this case. Here we have an announcer of Radio Éireann, a Mr. Begley, dismissed although he speaks Irish fluently, speaks German and French and, furthermore, is fully qualified in elocution. Not alone is he fully qualified for the post but he is an outstanding solicitor. He was educated in this country and has no connections whatever abroad except those made on a short holiday.

Mr. Begley is very well known and a familiar figure on Radio Éireann. His voice was clear, he spoke very fluently and in every part of Ireland, fromthe Donegal Gaeltacht to West Cork, in Wexford, the Midlands, Dublin City and everywhere else he could be heard distinctly and clearly. He was appointed unanimously by a board and on the occasion of his temporary appointment he was recommended by the board as the most highly qualified person in elocution and as the most suitable person for appointment as Radio Éireann announcer.

In March, 1953, the director of broadcasting sent for Mr. Begley and told him that the authorities were highly pleased with him, that he discharged his duties in a very capable and satisfactory manner. After some time he was informed that his voice was not characteristic of an Irish station. In Ireland to-day there is not a more highly qualified person than Mr. Begley and he has been informed that his services were terminated with Radio Éireann because he was too efficient. That was the excuse that was given to Mr. Begley. He was too highly educated and having secured honours in the course in elocution he was considered too efficient for Radio Éireann.

Never before in my experience as a Deputy of this House have I heard of an appointment being terminated because of over efficiency and over excellence. This opens a very important question in regard to Radio Éireann and I would suggest that either some Deputy or some Party in this House should put down a motion asking that a commission be set up with power to send for persons, papers and records, to inquire into the administration of Radio Éireann, because the information I have asked has not been given.

From the time he was told his voice was not characteristic of an Irish station, Mr. Begley asked many times for recordings of his voice to be played so that he would be given an opportunity of correcting any mispronunciations. In every other radio station in the world there is a place names register or reference book but in Radio Éireann there is no such thing as an Irish place names register book. Mr. Begley made many requests to the broadcasting supervisor forrecords to be played so that he would be in a position to correct himself and to comply in every way with the desire and the expressed wish of those in authority. He was always promised it would be done but it was not done and no opportunity was given to him to rectify any errors.

Might I ask the Minister who was qualified in Radio Éireann to judge whether Mr. Begley was correct in his pronunciations? He is the only person in Radio Éireann qualified in this respect. Even the chief supervisor went through no course in elocution.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Deputy may deal only with the case of "Deputy" Begley.

Captain Cowan

I wonder is the Ceann Comhairle prophesying. He referred to "Deputy" Begley.

An Ceann Comhairle

Mr. Begley. I am so used to referring to Deputies.

Mr. O. Flanagan

There was no one in Radio Éireann to advise or correct him because he was the only person in the station who was qualified in elocution. As far as the B.B.C. is concerned, the B.B.C. Third Programme runs for 42 hours and has six announcers. Radio Éireann runs for 60 hours and has one announcer and two temporary announcers. I might also point out that in the B.B.C. and in every broadcasting institution in the world you have what is known as a board for the purpose of listening in to all the officers of the broadcasting authorities so that they may be corrected in pronunciation and elocution. There is a board under Miss Miller in the B.B.C., and whenever there is a broadcast from the B.B.C. one of the members of this board is listening in so that if a mistake in pronunciation is made it is immediately corrected and the announcer will have the correct pronunciation after that. Here there is no such machinery.

On one occasion Mr. Begley did pronounce wrongly a certain Irish place-name. He was phoned by a friend and given the correct pronunciation and for the next news broadcast Mr. Begley had the correct pronunciation. In the absence of someone toinstruct in Radio Éireann, in the absence of proper advice and in the absence of a text-book, neither Mr. Begley nor any other announcer can improve or amend their pronunciation when the machinery is not there.

I respectfully submit that as far as Radio Éireann is concerned we have a single announcer on many occasions working from 6.30 p.m. until 11 o'clock at night. It is a very tiresome thing to sit in a radio station watching every word that comes from your lips to see that it is spoken properly and to be accurate at all times, because your job depends on your accuracy. But in the B.B.C. there are different announcers for the different subjects. In one evening here we might have from Radio Éireann a symphony concert being handled by the one announcer, who might also have to read the news and introduce a variety show.

With regard to the script, the scripts are prepared and given by the station supervisor to the announcer and, in many cases, when the news is coming in from the country it is only written ten minutes before it is given to the announcer and in most cases he has no opportunity of studying it or having the proper pronounciation. On many occasions the script is prepared by the station supervisor and handed to the announcer who is to make the announcement. If the announcer was responsible for compiling his own script the state of affairs that now prevails would not exist.

Captain Cowan

Then the news would be very stale.

Mr. O. Flanagan

I think the announcing staff of Radio Éireann is insufficient. I believe there should be a full inquiry into the administration and into the great inefficiency that is displayed in Radio Éireann. I think it is most alarming that a man of the type of Mr. Begley should be treated in this way, and remember, I am raising this in all sincerity and in the interests of Radio Éireann. Every citizen in this country is alarmed and astonished at the attitude of the Government in removinga man because he was too efficient. That is the only excuse that has been given. We find that while Mr. Begley was willing to comply in every way with everything that Radio Eireann desired there was no one in the station to assist him because he was the only person in the station who was highly qualified.

In the face of all that and particularly when we see that the staff was insufficient for the long hours of broadcasting, I think Mr. Begley was treated very unfairly. I believe he is a trained speaker and the only trained speaker on the Radio Éireann staff. I would suggest to the Minister, having put those facts before him, that he should have Mr. Begley reinstated immediately on a permanent basis because it is the wish of the majority of the Irish people that no injustice should be done to a well educated man who is doing his job efficiently and with every straightforwardness and rightness. An injustice has been done in this case. Mr. Begley was anxious to comply in every way with what Radio Éireann wanted him to do but there was no machinery available to assist, correct or advise him as he was the most highly qualified person in the station.

An Ceann Comhairle

I do not know if other Deputies wish to say something on the matter—there are only five minutes left.

Mr. O. Flanagan

I would ask the Minister to reconsider sympathetically this whole issue. The people are very strongly opposed to the attitude of the broadcasting authorities in the removal of Mr. Begley and I only raise this matter in the hope that the wrong that has been done will be righted and that Mr. Begley will be reinstated from tomorrow morning. It is the wish of holders of licences generally; it is the wish of every decent person who does not want to see an Irish boy educated in Ireland being deprived of his job in his own country.

If Mr. Begley desired he could have got one of the finest posts in the B.B.C. It is an extraordinary thing to say that while there is room in broadcasting stations abroad for Mr. Begley there is no room for him here because he istoo efficient to hold a situation in his own country. I think it is a poor encouragement for parents who are spending money in the education of their children.

I am sorry the Government has taken the line it has adopted in this case and I would ask very earnestly that Mr. Begley be reinstated on a permanent basis because he is the only announcer, the clearest announcer and the best announcer that Radio Éireann ever had. I hope the Minister will have this whole question reopened and reviewed in the light of the information I have given and insist—because the Minister's instructions must be carried out and there is no such thing as hob-hatching by saying that it is a matter for the director. If the Minister gives an instruction that Mr. Begley be re-employed it must be carried out. I would ask him to do so, so as to meet the wishes of the majority of the Irish people.

An Ceann Comhairle

I will give preference to those who have questions.

Mr. M.E. Dockrell

I would like to speak for a moment. I would agree with Deputy Flanagan that the Minister should reconsider the matter. An injustice has been done to Mr. Begley and, apparently, he has been dismissed because his voice was not characteristically Irish. I do not think anybody could say what is a characteristically Irish voice.

Mr. Briscoe

Surely it is not the voice that is in question?

Mr. A. Byrne

Is that a suggestion that there is something else wrong?

Mr. Briscoe

No, it is the accent.

Mr. Byrne

If it is, it should not be made.

Mr. Dockrell

I am sure that is the only thing. We on this side of the House——

Captain Cowan

Which side?

Mr. M.E. Dockrell

The Opposition.

Captain Cowan

You do not include Deputy Corish?

Mr. M.E. Dockrell

We feel that an injustice has been done because the committee thought he had not a characteristically Irish voice. Nobody knows what a characteristically Irish voice is and the announcer in question carried out his duties well and conscientiously, and we feel that an injustice has been done. We think that the Minister himself should step in and exercise his overriding power on behalf of an Irishman who did his job and did it thoroughly.

Mr. Lehane

I am glad some of the Deputies who were attacking the Oxford accent last week have changed their attitude over the week-end. I would like to ask the Minister to give information to the House on the reasons for the dismissal. There is wide general public interest taken in this matter, and I am sure the Minister must know from the director of broadcasting the reason for the dismissal, and I think, having regard to the interest taken in it by the public, that the Minister should give that information to the House.

Deputies Mac Fheórais, Rooney and Cowan rose.

An Ceann Comhairle

Deputy Rooney did not have a question down.

Mr. Rooney

No.

Captain Cowan

I merely want to say a few words.

An Ceann Comhairle

There are only ten minutes left for the Minister.

Captain Cowan

I will not take one minute. I do not think the Minister wants ten minutes. We debated this whole matter here on the Estimate and certain criticisms were made in relation to a particular announcer. The Minister did not tell us then that a decision had been taken to dismiss this announcer. I consider that a question of freedom and principle is involved here. If a person can be dismissed from his employment because his accent does not happen to suit someone else, he can equally well be dismissed because of the way he trims his moustache or wears his clothes. These things may annoysomeone. Even the colour of his tie may result in his dismissal. There is a question of freedom and principle involved and it will be regrettable if this country is ruined because of the ignorant approach of certain people to matters such as accent. I believe that what has happened should not have happened. As it has happened, it has done a great service to the particular announcer concerned, Mr. Begley. I think Deputy Flanagan and the others who have spoken have expressed the view of the ordinary people; they do not agree with what has been done. They think it is unjust. I believe it should not have been done.

Deputies Mac Fheórais and Rooney rose.

An Ceann Comhairle

I cannot allow every Deputy to speak.

Brendán Mac Fheórais

There is no harm in offering.

Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (Mr. Childers)

In the course of the two debates that took place on the Estimate here it was made perfectly clear to me by Deputies that they welcomed the change in the method of administration of Radio Éireann and Deputy Dockrell expressed the hope that the comhairle would very largely manage Radio Éireann and would not be answerable to the Minister. I need not at this stage give the quotations from Deputies welcoming the change that has taken place. In the recent debate there were a number of complimentary statements about Radio Éireann. There was no universal criticism. There were a number of matters about which Deputies held adverse views, including the matter under consideration here to-night; but Deputies made it quite clear that they were not able to represent the views of the people as a whole, or indeed of their constituents, about any particular item in the programme. Deputy Flanagan knows nothing whatsoever as to what the Irish people as a whole think about Radio Éireann.

Mr. D.J. O'Sullivan

Twelve thousand voted for the Deputy.

Mr. Childers

He could not be expected to know. Deputy O'Sullivan, who has just interrupted me, made it quite clear in the debate that he could not give the general views of his particular constituents in relation to Radio Éireann.

Mr. D.J. O'Sullivan

I said I would do my best.

Mr. Childers

One of the main reasons why this change took place was to enhance the element of innovation and enterprise introduced into Radio Éireann. In the world of music, drama, radio, broadcasting and publishing, the people who join these services on a temporary basis take all the risks of their temporary appointments, and they are fully aware of those risks in advance. That is why such institutions succeed. A person who becomes an actor holds his position for the life of a particular play and no longer.

Mr. M.E. Dockrell

What about the world of justice?

Mr. Childers

Innovation is the very life and breath of broadcasting, and one of the principal reasons for the change that was made in handing over control to the comhairle with the consent of this House was so that we could have the same element of innovation and the same element of enterprise whereunder people could be temporarily appointed. The people so temporarily appointed are made perfectly well aware of the nature of their appointment and the fact that they can be dispensed with at any time. The Civil Service atmosphere has to go in relation to a very large number of posts in Radio Éireann where, for one reason or another, changes are desirable and it is sometimes difficult to find talent.

I have done my best to encourage the comhairle and the director to take that view. If anyone can give me an example of a person temporarily employed on creative work for Radio Éireann, or work of the kind we are discussing, who was deceived and who was not appointed by the week and was, on his appointment, given the impression that he was likely to beretained for a long period and was subsequently summarily given a week's notice I would take a very serious view, because the whole atmosphere of Radio Éireann is quite different. There are people employed there purely on a contract basis to broadcast a certain feature. There are people who are employed by the week on a purely temporary basis and it is made quite clear to them on every occasion on which it is necessary to do so that their employment is purely temporary and the continuation of the particular work on which they are engaged does not build up for them any right to be continued in that employment after a certain period.

That is what takes place in the world of broadcasting, including the B.B.C., where there are many short contracts of the type to which I have referred and where people are engaged on a purely temporary basis, including announcers. There is nothing in the case under discussion which differs from the position obtaining here or elsewhere in that respect. If it is the intention of Deputies to intervene in relation to these matters, any artiste or officer temporarily employed can appeal to a Deputy against his ultimate dismissal. We might have, for example, an artiste engaged in the item called "Ballad Makers' Saturday Night" which ended because, in the view of the director, it could not continue indefinitely; those taking part in that programme need a rest. If some of the musicians or singers, who badly need the money, can come here and ask Deputies to speak on their behalf, how does anyone imagine we can put on programmes of a high-class character?

Mr. O. Flanagan

That has nothing to do with the particular issue at stake here.

Mr. Childers

This sort of debate could take place at any time in relation to these short appointments and that would make the position of the director and comhairle utterly impossible. Even before the recent reorganisation took place, any Minister for Posts and Telegraphs would resist that kind of interference,even though it was understood that Radio Éireann was being run as a Civil Service organisation. In my view it is ridiculous to run the radio broadcasting as a Civil Service organisation and the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs in that position would have to stand here and defend the right of the director to dismiss from the service people holding appointments of a purely temporary character. The director should be allowed at all times to use his discretion. All this is done in the interests of a better radio service. There is nothing that I know of against the individual in question——

Mr. O. Flanagan

Except his accent.

Mr. Childers

——of a scandalous or sinister character. The news given to the public at large by the person concerned in relation to the matter was, on the whole, reasonably fair. He is, however, in a position similar to that of many other persons in many broadcasting organisations throughout the world of drama, music, and so forth, who are given these temporary appointments and whose directors have discretion in their own hands as to the duration of particular programmes. I would be striking a blow at the improvement and the effort to further improve Radio Éireann were I to encourage this kind of intervention.

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht - Tuesday, 17 Nov 1953