RTÉ must give creche staff copies of TV show

Two childcare workers who claim they were defamed in an RTÉ Prime Time programme about creches have secured Supreme Court orders directing RTÉ to give them copies of recordings of the programme in the format shown to some parents prior to the broadcast.

The three-judge Supreme Court yesterday dismissed RTÉ’s appeal against a High Court ruling the workers were entitled to copies of recordings of the “Breach of Trust” programme both as broadcast on May 28, 2013, and as shown days earlier to the parents of children cared for by Links Creche, at Abbington, Malahide, Co Dublin. RTÉ must also provide any transcripts of what was shown.

Sandra Kavanagh and Lisa Craddock sought the recordings prior to delivering statements of claim in defamation actions against RTÉ over the programme, which involved undercover reporters secretly filming at a number of creches.

Ms Craddock, of Brookwood Glen, Artane, Dublin, and Ms Kavanagh, Hawthorn Park, Forrest Park, Swords, Dublin, were employees of the Links Creche in May 2013 and claim they were devastated by the broadcast. They claim the programme alleged they were involved in the mistreatment of, and were utterly indifferent to, children in their care. Both deny either mistreatment of indifference.

Both accepted they were given a separate advance screening of the programme in the presence of their lawyers but said they had no idea what exactly was shown to the parents of children.

Last October, the High Court ruled that RTÉ should hand over recordings of the broadcast programme and of what was shown to the parents. RTÉ appealed to the Supreme Court and, while it later agreed to provide the plaintiffs with recordings of the programme as broadcast, retained its objection to handing over recordings of what was shown to the parents.

Dismissing the appeal, Mr Justice Nial Fennelly said the “crucial” fact was neither Ms Kavanagh nor Ms Craddock had seen what was shown to the parents.

While RTÉ sought to argue there was no difference between the programme as broadcast and what was shown to the parents, there did appear to be some differences, the judge said.

An order for discovery prior to a statement of claim may only be made in exceptional circumstances but this case was “sufficiently exceptional” to justify such an order, he ruled.