Sinn Fein plan to review RTE’s objectivity ‘extraordinarily concerning’ – Harris

The Taoiseach has branded as chilling a manifesto pledge from Sinn Fein to commission a review of RTE’s objectivity in its coverage of international conflicts.

Mr Harris said the proposed examination of how Ireland’s national broadcaster has covered the bloodshed in Gaza and its reporting on other warzones was “extraordinarily concerning”.

The Sinn Fein manifesto commits to commissioning an “independent human rights and journalist expert review into the objectivity of coverage by RTE of the Israeli genocide in Gaza and other international conflicts”.

Party president Mary Lou McDonald defended the measure at the manifesto launch on Tuesday morning, insisting “peer review” processes were common in every professional walk of life.

She made clear the independent review would be carried out by media and human rights experts and would not involve political interference.

Fine Gael leader Mr Harris raised serious concerns about the proposal as he spoke to reporters during a canvass in Co Roscommon later on Tuesday.

“Perhaps most chillingly in their manifesto there are a number of very concerning developments around the media itself,” he said of the manifesto.

“I mean, I’d be very interested in what questions you’d be asking me today if I had published a manifesto that proposed setting up a committee to review RTE’s objectivity on the Middle East and Gaza.

“I mean, have we ever heard a political party in this country before say that we should all get together and check if RTE, or indeed anybody else, is being objective on an issue?

“I mean, journalists put themselves in harm’s way to cover issues objectively, so failing to commit to passing the Defamation Bill (proposed laws aimed at reduced disproportionately large payouts) and wanting to review the objectivity of RTE on its coverage of Gaza is extraordinarily concerning and perhaps gives a little bit of an insight into the way Sinn Fein approaches press freedom.”

Asked about the proposal at the manifesto launch in Dublin, Ms McDonald said confidence in the national broadcaster was “absolutely key”.

“The conflict in Gaza is particularly cited because, obviously, it is horrific what we are viewing, and we are viewing it through the prism of the television screen,” she said.

“It is a genocide that is being televised, and we think it’s a healthy thing and a necessary thing for conflicts and events like that, that have such immense significance and consequences, that there is an exercise like that in oversight.

“So it’s simply, if anything, far from being an interference, it is a trust and confidence building matter. And, by the way, the proposal is a human rights and journalistic expert review. So it’s very much a peer review. We’re not journalists, we’re political actors, and we fully understand the distinction between ourselves.”

Ms McDonald said she did not think the line dividing government and the media would become murky if such a review of RTE was commissioned.

“This is a matter of trust and a matter of confidence, it is a matter of peer review,” she said.

“This happens in virtually every professional walk of life. Peer review is standard. It’s a standard, standard process.”

She said this could prove “a very, very healthy, very worthwhile exercise – not to be done by politicians, but by human rights (experts) and journalists themselves”.

A spokeswoman for RTE said: “Impartiality and objectivity are among the cornerstone principles of RTE and the organisation’s own journalism guidelines.

“Section 46L (1) of the Online Safety & Regulation Act 2022 imposes a specific obligation to report in ‘an objective and impartial manner and without any expression of the broadcaster’s own views.’

“The Oireachtas established CnaM (Coimisiun na Mean) as an independent statutory body with power to hold broadcasters accountable for compliance with the legislation and the broadcasting codes.”