Ahern condemns FAI's deal with Sky
Mr Ahern said he had asked Communications Minister Dermot Ahern and Sports Minister John O'Donoghue to look into the issue.
But he added that it was difficult to give special consideration to an entire competition rather than specific games like the GAA All Ireland finals.
The Taoiseach said he had serious misgivings about what he believed was a drift to pay-per-view television for such games.
"I don't like the idea that a whole section of the sporting public are disenfranchised," he said.
At the same time, the National Parents Council said it feared that the FAI's deal would mean thousands of children would be forced to watch the games in pubs.
The council was also concerned that underage teenagers might be tempted to drink alcohol while watching the games. Only 230,000 out of a total of 1.2 million households subscribe to Sky TV in Ireland.
"Bars are not a suitable environment for juniors. We are very disappointed by the FAI's actions because there is huge interest among young people in the national team," an NPC spokesperson said.
Despite this criticism, the FAI insisted last night that the deal with Sky TV was final, and it would not withdraw from the contract agreed on Friday. The Vintners Federation of Ireland, representing 6,000 publicans, said that children viewing the games in pubs would have to be accompanied by a parent.
The federation pointed out that some of its members preferred to have children off their premises late in the evening. Most of the four home qualifying matches for the European Championships are set to kick off after 7pm.
The Consumers' Association of Ireland has been inundated with thousands of protest calls over the deal.
CAI chairman Michael Kilcoyne called on the Taoiseach to intervene.
Communications Minister Dermot Ahern now wants to draw up a list of sports events protected under the Major TV Events Act 1999. This should ensure that a subscription channel cannot buy exclusive rights for games like the All Ireland Finals.
The Act was introduced by former Arts Minister Síle De Valera, but sporting organisations resisted her attempts to draw up a protected list.
In Britain, top sporting fixtures like the FA Cup final, the Wimbledon tennis final, and the Grand National must be shown on terrestrial TV.
