State faces TV row own goal

GOVERNMENT attempts to up-end the €7m Sky TV-FAI deal on Ireland's international soccer matches may prove to be an own goal, a leading lawyer said yesterday.

Dublin solicitor, Deirdre Ní Fhloinn, said the move by Communications Minister Dermot Ahern to designate the soccer internationals as mandatory for non-subscription television channels such as RTÉ and TV3 may be flouting Article 40.3.2 of the Constitution. This obliges the Government to protect and vindicate the property rights of citizens.

Writing in the solicitors' monthly magazine, Law Society Gazette, Ms Ní Fhloinn says there are compelling grounds for both the arguments of the Minister and FAI-Sky. But she warns that the Government must proceed very carefully in its campaign to safeguard the soccer internationals, which include seeking Oireachtas and EU approval.