Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I join in the tributes and words of sympathy to the Dowling family. We should not be surprised that it is an onerous task to be a Senator on the Labour Panel. It is certainly a laborious task anyway.

I make the point to the Ceannaire Gníomhach, Senator Seery Kearney, that it is about ten months since the scandal of the secret payments at RTÉ emerged, causing the State broadcaster to take a massive credibility hit. It was a serious scandal, with Oireachtas inquiries bringing to light the corruption, hubris, sense of entitlement and, indeed, arrogance on display at different points at the heart of RTÉ. Many of us hoped this would lead to a new awareness in the State broadcaster of its obligations not just to some of the people, but to all of the people.

In that light, I want to express my shock and disappointment at the "RTÉ Investigates" programme that was aired last night. It was sad for its content but it was truly shocking for its one-sidedness and bias and its complete failure to depict another side of an important and distressing story. It completely failed to hear from representatives of the many thousands of people who are opposed to abortion in this country. The programme stated that seven months of work went into producing the end product aired last night. I would like to know exactly how much taxpayers' money was poured into producing what amounted to an activist-driven propaganda piece. Pro-abortion activism was at the core of this programme. Prominent activists were centre stage. Shockingly, they were depicted simply as experts. For example, Dr. Jonathan Lord was described as a consultant gynaecologist but there was no mention of the fact that he is the medical director of MSI Reproductive Choices, one of the largest abortion providers in Britain. Within the first ten minutes of the programme, a recording of a phone call between a woman who rang the HSE's My Options hotline and a counsellor was played.She stated that she was 14 weeks pregnant but did not mention an abortion. In response, we hear the counsellor immediately telling her that she cannot, under the law, have an abortion and straight away referring her to the Abortion Support Network. So much for non-directive services, but nothing here seemed to raise any eyebrows in RTÉ. Why such emphasis on having an abortion and not promoting positive alternatives? Is it any wonder our abortion rate has skyrocketed since 2018? There are suggestions that more than 10,000 abortions took place in 2023. There was no mention of this spiralling abortion rate and no mention of questions around precautionary pain relief in late-term abortions. We heard euphemistic language about what happens to a disabled or severely disabled child in a late-term abortion but no focus on the reality of what happens to the baby in that dreadfully tragic situation.

When people tell me this is this is the reason they do not pay their licence fee any more, I do not blame them. No fairness, no licence fee would be the motto of many people. Much more importantly, I echo the calls of the Pro Life Campaign for a special Oireachtas committee to examine the issue of bias and impartiality within the State broadcaster and its lack of objectivity. I echo this call because all sides should be heard. So many people are not being served well by our State broadcaster on this issue in particular.