Sinn Féin has been accused of having a “chilling” effect on Ireland’s democracy after RTÉ pulled an interview with the author of a new biography about the party’s leader, Mary Lou McDonald.
The taoiseach, Micheál Martin, said the national broadcaster did not air the interview for fear of being sued. “Such a development has a chilling effect on public debate and democracy,” he told the Dáil on Tuesday. “That’s something that demands greater transparency and explanation.”
RTÉ recorded a radio interview with Shane Ross, the author of Mary Lou McDonald: A Republican Riddle, on 29 September for a flagship show, Today with Claire Byrne, but never aired it.
McDonald is suing RTÉ for defamation on a different radio programme earlier this year. Other party colleagues have also taken out defamation cases.
Ross’s biography, which was published last week, charts McDonald’s rise from middle class Dublin roots up the hierarchy of Sinn Féin, a former IRA mouthpiece which now appears poised to lead Ireland’s next government.
Before the interview RTÉ told Ross to not mention certain parts of the book, the author said on Wednesday. The broadcaster also stipulated the interview would be legally vetted and that Sinn Féin would be given a right of reply before broadcast, said Ross. “They were like cats on hot bricks.”
Ross, a former politician and government minister, said he agreed to the conditions, making for a “sanitised” interview. “It was a bit like dancing on pins to not mention anything too sensitive.” A week later the broadcaster canned the interview, telling Ross it did not meet editorial guidelines. “You can only conclude they are very nervous because there is a high court action against them.”
Figures in the centre-right ruling coalition said RTÉ appeared to be intimidated: “I’m not sure what they are afraid of, or who they are afraid of – but this is censorship of the highest order,” Paul Kehoe, a Fine Gael TD, told the Dáil. Brendan Griffin, a deputy government whip, asked a parliamentary media committee to summon RTE’s director general, Dee Forbes.
In a statement the broadcaster said it had editorial independence over what to cover and broadcast. “With many competing stories and items each day, it is not unusual for a pre-recorded interview not to be broadcast. In this instance, the decision not to broadcast was an editorial decision and was not influenced by any legal issues.”
The statement disputed a claim by the taoiseach that Sinn Féin was given access to the tape. “No one was given access to the recorded interview.”
A Sinn Féin spokesperson also disputed the taoiseach’s allegation. “It is a matter for RTÉ what they choose to broadcast, or not. It is highly unusual for the Fianna Fáil leader to use Dáil time in this way; particularly when his information is completely incorrect – Sinn Féin did not receive a copy of any interview, nor was it sought.”
The party has rejected accusations that it wishes to stifle media commentary and criticism.
Last year Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, a Sinn Féin member of parliament, settled a defamation case against RTÉ reportedly for €150,000. Gerry Adams, has launched several actions, including a pending case against the BBC.
Gerry Kelly, a former IRA member and Sinn Féin member of the Northern Ireland assembly, is seeking aggravated damages against two columnists, Malachi O’Doherty and Ruth Dudley Edwards, for comments made in print and on radio.
The Index on Censorship, a London-based watchdog, has filed media freedom alerts to the Council of Europe in relation to the McDonald and Kelly cases. The advocacy group said the Kelly lawsuit had “several characteristics” of strategic lawsuits against public participation, or Slapps.
