Irish deputy premier says no review of fuel protest reporting needed

Ireland’s deputy premier has said a review of media reporting of fuel protests is not needed after his ministerial colleague questioned whether it was “skewed”.

Media Minister Patrick O’Donovan questioned whether coverage of the protests was “skewed” and said he would be contacting Ireland’s broadcasting and online media regulator, Coimisiun na Mean.

He said that he had appeared once on a local Limerick radio station last week, while “other people might have been on close to seven or eight times” in relation to the fuel protests.

He said there were “a lot of lopsided political views” on air and this needed to be examined, as well as the make-up of on-air panel discussions.

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) described the comments as “sinister and deeply disturbing”, and had caused “genuine concern”.

Seamus Dooley, assistant general secretary of the NUJ, said there was “no place for Trumpian” attacks on the media.

Asked about the comments by Mr O’Donovan, who is a Fine Gael minister, Tanaiste and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris said a free media was “an absolute vital part of our democracy”.

“I’m a big supporter of freedom of the media, freedom of the press, as is the government, as is the minister,” Mr Harris told reporters outside Government Buildings in Dublin.

“In fact, Minister Patrick O’Donovan will be bringing forward legislative change later this year to further underpin the importance of freedom of the media, in line with a number of European developments.

“A free media, a robust media, is an absolute vital part of our democracy.

“Of course, at the end of any difficult period, you can look back and say, at a moment in national crisis, how do we get information out there, are there learnings?

“But I certainly don’t think there’s any need for any sort of formal review, these are matters for Coimisiun na Mean.”

He added: “I think the media, like everybody in this country, were doing their best to deal with a fast evolving and a very difficult situation.

“My priority now as a government leader is to try and move forward, try to deliver for people in this country.”

The regulator, Coimisiun na Mean, said in a statement that if individuals want to make a complaint about broadcast content, they can find more information on the regulator’s website.