Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 24 Mar 1992

Vol. 417 No. 5

Adjournment Debate. - Establishment of Broadcasting Complaints Body.

Mr. V. Brady

I thank the Chair for allowing me to raise this question on the Adjournment. It relates to a matter which has concerned many people. I wish to emphasise to the Minister the great need to appoint a body such as the Broadcasting Complaints Commission. Unfortunately, that body was not reappointed and the public do not have any means of expressing their views or lodging a complaint about any broadcasting matter. In the UK and in other European countries there are more effective bodies than the Broadcasting Complaints Commission, such as the Press Council. Will the Minister consider establishing such a body here as it has worked well in the UK and in other European countries?

I was prompted to raise this matter by an RTE "Today Tonight" programme on 10 March which accused, tried and judged a private citizen. The programme was in despicably bad taste. RTE apparently sent a crew to Orlando at great cost and not only that but they sought out a young lady there and interviewed her at, perhaps, a considerable fee. The programme infringed on a private family. It must have been a nightmare for the family concerned who may have looked at that programme. The programme sought to be sensational and descended to what I would describe as the level of the gutter press.

From the point of view of the public it is vital to have a watchdog such as the Broadcasting Complaints Commission or a Press Council. The media have gone overboard not just in this instance but in many other cases. I will not go into detail but there have been instances of a similar nature which have impinged on the privacy of private individuals. I appreciate that it is important that the media should have freedom of expression but it is equally important that justice and respect be afforded to the citizen. In this respect it is important that some means be devised and I recommend the appointment of a press council.

This is my first opportunity in the House to congratulate the Minister on her appointment. I know she will be a very efficient Minister and I wish her every success.

Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications (Mrs. Geoghegan-Quinn)

At the outset I wish to make it absolutely clear that I have no statutory function in relation to programming matters in RTE or the day-to-day running of the organisation and I do not intend to make any comment on the content of any particular programme. I should like, however, to draw the attention of the House to a statement in the Irish Independent of 14 March last in which one RTE spokesperson is on record as saying that the board had agreed “that the item was in poor taste and the decision to transmit it was regretted”.

I should also like to make clear that the Broadcasting Authority Acts, 1960 to 1979, lay down specific obligations on the RTE Authority in relation in particular to the broadcasting of news and the broadcast treatment of current affairs. I refer Deputy Brady to section 18 (1) of the Broadcasting Authority Act, 1960, as amended by section 3 of the Broadcasting Authority (Amendment) Act, 1976. Statutory responsibility for ensuring compliance with these provisions rests solely with the Authority.

I disagree with the Deputy's contention that the Broadcasting Complaints Commission is the only vehicle available to deal with complaints from the public regarding broadcasting standards. The first and primary place to lodge complaints of this nature is the RTE Authority. I would expect the Authority to give proper consideration to all complaints received in relation to programming.

In setting up the Broadcasting Complaints Commission, the legislation recognised the primary role of the RTE Authority in this area. The first step in invoking the complaints procedure is to put the complaint in writing within the requisite time period as laid down in the Acts for the RTE Authority as follows: Prior to the complaint being made to the commission, the complaint is made to the Authority in writing and is received not more than 30 days after the date of the relevant broadcast. Only if the complainant is dissatisfied with RTE's response may the complaint be referred as a last recourse to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission.

I recognise the Deputy's concern regarding the appointment of the Broadcasting Complaints Commission. I can assure him that I, too, consider this body to be a crucial organ in overseeing the upholding of broadcasting standards. It has over the years proved to be a highly esteemed arbiter of broadcasting standards. Its decisions have been beyond reproach. The appointment of the members of the commission is a matter for Government and I will be submitting my proposals for the membership of the commission very shortly. I am at present reviewing the operation of broadcasting legislation. In the context of that review I will be examining inter alia all the broadcasting structures and responsibilities. If I feel there is room for improvement I will include proposals for legislative change in these areas in my overall package of proposals that will follow from my review.