Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald denies manifesto pledge would 'interfere' with RTÉ's editorial independence

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has denied that she is trying to interfere with the editorial independence of RTÉ.

In the party’s manifesto, published on Tuesday, there was a recommendation that it, if in government, would “commission an independent human rights and journalists' expert review into the objectivity of coverage by RTÉ of the Israeli genocide in Gaza and other international conflicts”.

The manifesto did not contain any promise to reform Ireland’s defamation laws.

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Asked by the Irish Mirror about the suggestion for an “expert panel” to assess RTÉ’s coverage of the ongoing war in the Middle East, Ms McDonald denied that it was political interference in the national broadcaster. Ms McDonald said that the “national broadcaster occupies a very valued, valuable space” and “confidence in it is absolutely key”.

“It’s about peer review. It's not about anybody in the world of politics coming in and interfering with editorial decisions,” she said.

“That would be completely and utterly inappropriate. But it is about peer review, particularly when the national broadcaster in particular must be [...] the premier, trusted source of information. 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. It is a genocide that is being televised.

“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. Far from being an interference, it is a trust and confidence-building matter.

“It's very much a peer. We're not journalists, we're political actors, and we fully understand the distinction between ourselves and [the media].”

The Irish Mirror asked Ms McDonald if it was not up to RTÉ to decide whether its material needs to be peer-reviewed and if she could see where the line was getting “murky.” She said, “No, I don’t”. She said if you followed that logic, it could be suggested that it would be for “RTÉ alone to decide on its government mechanisms”.

Speaking in Roscommon, Taoiseach Simon Harris said the Sinn Féin proposal on RTÉ was “chilling”. He said: “Perhaps most chillingly, in their manifesto, there are a number of very concerning developments around the media itself.

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

“Have we ever heard a political party in this country before say that we should all get together and check if RTÉ, or indeed, anybody else, is being objective on an issue? Journalists put themselves in harm's way to cover issues objectively.

“Failing to commit to passing the defamation bill 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.”

A spokeswoman for RTÉ told the Irish Mirror that "impartiality and objectivity are among the cornerstone principles of RTÉ and the organisations 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 [Coimisiún na Meán] as an independent statutory body with power to hold broadcasters accountable for compliance with the legislation and the broadcasting codes."

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