RTÉ now an arm of Government

I WISH to express alarm at RTÉ’s increasing propensity to dumb down real political debate and allow public service broadcasting become an arm of Government.

In recent months we have witnessed the RTÉ Authority, producers and broadcasters capitulate to Beverley Flynn, pull oncologist Dr John Crown from a Late Late show debate on the crisis in our health service, axe the controversial Vincent Browne radio show and, on Questions and Answers, a private company praises John Gormley for changes made in planning. John Bowman, in a somewhat subdued manner, did at least remind the audience that the company had a vested interest in building insulation. However, on the weekend of November 24/25, Marian Finucane’s radio programmes surpassed all that had gone before.

On the Saturday, she opened with a monologue in which she exonerated Mary Harney and Brendan Drumm from any blame in the current crisis — the public service was to blame for bad management, faulty equipment, etc. There was no opposing voice present. She later went on to interview John Horgan, initially expressing a desire to hear his views on this issue, but suddenly stopped.

Did she remember, or was she reminded in her earpiece, that he is a former Labour party senator and TD, and just might have an intelligent, opposing view to hers, and so had to be prevented from airing this to us?

Sunday’s panel included two PD representatives (including former junior ministerTom Parlon). They, and the other members of the panel, defended Harney and Drumm. Again, we had an attack on the public service. And yet again there was no dissenting voice on the programme to offer an alternative view.

Tom Parlon is a lobbyist for the construction industry. Any Government programme to build private hospitals on public land will be of great commercial benefit to the body he represents. Not once was he questioned by Finucane about a possible conflict of interest on his part.

RTÉ now has questions to answer. The alleged concern about balance on the Late Late Show panel has to be greeted with scepticism when the Marian Finucane shows were given free rein to propagate the FF/PD and Green party policy to privatise and run down our health services.

It is now time that those concerned at how our taxes are being used to prop up RTÉ as an extension of Government should switch off until that station re-asserts itself as a real public broadcasting service.

Carmel McKenna

Ballinagilkey

Hacketstown

Co Carlow