Misrepresentation of protest

In the wake of the RTÉ Prime Time Investigates scandal, Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte waffled on about ‘the need to restore viewer confidence in current affairs and news broadcasting’.

I say ‘waffle’, as it is inconceivable that a Government minister is unaware of how RTÉ shamefully transformed itself into a vehicle for Government spin as the deadline for registration for the household tax approached.

For several weeks the viewing public got a rare chance to see what life might have been like in the old Soviet Union with Pravda as the only official source of ‘news’.

Hundreds of meetings and marches around the country went unreported except on YouTube. Even those few that were covered under-reported the numbers in attendance when information was available elsewhere.

Proponents of the tax had an almost open mic whereas opponents barely got a look-in. Even when they did, it was rare that they were allowed to get beyond simply saying ‘don’t pay the tax’ without explaining why.

We were treated to regular updates on the numbers who had registered, but the equally obvious figure of the far greater number who had not, was never mentioned.

The only exceptions were chat shows like the Late Late Show, but these represent ‘opinion’ pieces rather than ‘factuals’ like the news.

In the final days a desperate Government moved from threats to pleading, and RTÉ ‘reporters’ from emphasising the threats to ‘sure you can pay late, it’s just a tenner more’.

The effect was almost comic. I was reminded of Saddam’s former minister for information telling us how the Americans had been beaten back to the sea, as one of RTÉ’s reporters stood in front of deserted council offices telling us how ‘people were registering in droves.’

The only two members of the public interviewed were, by ‘coincidence’, paying the tax.

One explained it was ‘our duty’ and another said she ‘didn’t want to pay, but sure, everyone was paying’ whereas in fact, at that point, the opposite was true. Had it turned out that they were two actresses hired to spout those lines, I would not have been at all surprised.

I now find it difficult to believe anything from RTÉ about either the household tax or the Fiscal Treaty, and think independent confirmation of the Government’s figures for registration compliance is warranted.

The salt in the wound is the €160 I pay for my licence fee, obliging me to contribute towards this undermining of democracy and journalism.

Nick Folley

Carrigaline

Co Cork