Ryan criticised for radio sex toy chat

RADIO star Gerry Ryan has received a major reprimand from the broadcasting authorities for holding a crude discussion about sex toys during his morning show on 2FM last April.

A complaint against the DJ about an item on vibrators, which included a number of explicit references to masturbation and sex toys, has been upheld by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission.

A 2FM listener, Aidan Canny, complained to the BCC that the Gerry Ryan Show on April 16 contained a discussion about vibrators at 9.30am, which he argued was a completely inappropriate topic for conversation on a morning chat show.

Mr Canny pointed out that he was normally bringing his daughter to a crèche at such a time and had to switch the channel off.

However, RTÉ maintained that the Gerry Ryan Show’s audience is predominantly adult as it is broadcast when most children are at school. The station also argued that the show had a long-standing reputation for dealing with topics about adult sexuality.

It claimed the discussion about a listener’s unhappiness with his wife’s use of a vibrator was “familiar territory” for Ryan’s audience. RTÉ added that it had only received two phone calls from people complaining about the programme’s content.

However, upholding the complaint, the BCC criticised Ryan for referring repeatedly to female sexual stimulation in “a crude manner”. It also ruled that Ryan’s manner of presentation was “at times gratuitous”.

Another RTÉ presenter, Dave Fanning, was criticised for his comments about the Catholic Church made during his review of a film about a paedophile priest on the Marian Finucane Show on April 1.

The BCC upheld two separate complaints, including one from a priest, about Fanning’s review of Deliver Us From Evil.

Fr Terry Toner complained that the broadcaster had shown a lapse of professional judgement and slandered the Church by describing the institution as “evil incarnate”.

Another listener, Frank Burke, claimed Fanning used the film to launch a personal attack on Pope Benedict XVI and the Church, while the show’s main presenter, Marian Finucane, made a feeble, ineffective attempt to restore balance to the discussion.

In reply, RTÉ stated that the Church authorities had moved Fr Oliver O’Grady, who abused dozens of children in California, to other parishes rather than report him to the police. RTÉ also claimed it was widely accepted that the Catholic hierarchy was more concerned with avoiding scandal than with protecting innocent children.

The station said Fanning’s use of the word “evil” was the term he used to vent his indignation and anger at the manner in which the abuse of children had been facilitated.

The BCC acknowledged that the film had a profound effect on Fanning but ruled that the opinions he expressed went beyond the bounds of his brief to review a film.

The commission also upheld two more complaints against an edition of RTÉ’s Liveline on the adoption rights of homosexual couples. A total of four separate complaints have now been upheld against the programme.

The BCC also upheld a complaint against the On the Record programme on Kilkenny Carlow Local Radio FM as well as a TV ad for Stena Line.