John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will stick to questions as much as possible but I acknowledge and welcome the attendance of the delegation from RTE and its presentation. I also acknowledge its efforts subsequent to the review it is putting in place. We are here this morning because there was no sense of balance in that edition of "The Frontline" and because it is important that we give balance to what actions have been taken.

The reason the delegation is here this morning is because the BAI criticised it for not publishing the full document upon which the report was based. That evoked suspicion not only among this committee but among the general public as if there was something in that longer document that was not released. I acknowledge the fact that RTE has published that document. As the delegation stated, RTE's inquiry into the programme dealt with how the audience and questions were selected. There is a reference in the document to the inexperience - perhaps I am using the wrong word - of the editorial team. The perception among the public has been confirmed in the longer document where it was stated that following the general election debate involving the party leaders, the editor thought the programme was a bit stilted but that editorial safety was his main concern.

I put it to the witnesses that, for this reason, someone decided to stir the pot for the presidential debate so that it would not be so stilted. Some of the candidates, including the candidate who led in the opinion polls going into the debate, Mr. Seán Gallagher, were casualties of this decision. If the idea was to target him for more questions because he was the leader, it is interesting that the candidate in second place was asked no questions. This is one of the public's concerns.

The other public concern is that presidential and general election debates seem to be competitions between the top presenters within and without RTE, who are paid considerable fees, to get the largest audiences and to be the most controversial. Truth and balance become lost. I would be interested in the witnesses' comments in this regard. It is the overriding belief among the public that, be the presenter Pat Kenny, Miriam O'Callaghan or someone else, everyone wants to trump everyone else. As the debate in question was the final one, there was a perception that the candidates, the truth and a sense of balance were casualties.

It has been stated that all of RTE's staff have done social media courses. Presenters in RTE and other broadcasters have Twitter accounts on which they make personal comments. Given some of those comments in recent weeks, it is difficult to see how they would give certain individuals fair interviews.