RTÉ ‘not a house market cheerleader’

RTÉ was not a cheerleader for the boom despite its series of high-profile house-buying programmes, the banking inquiry has heard.

Ed Mulhall, the station’s then head of news and current affairs, made the claim during the latest Oireachtas banking inquiry meeting.

He told the cross-party group the broadcaster regularly put forward “contrarian” views on the economy, and pointed to a number of examples, including Boom and Future Shock in April 2007, which was followed by an infamous Prime Time interview with economist Morgan Kelly.