Eoghan Murphy (Dublin South East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I completely respect the idea that the authority must be independent and that we need a third party to rule on these things, but what if the third party is wrong? What if we believe it is acting irresponsibly or inappropriately? To whom is the authority responsible at that point? What if, in setting up the code of conduct according to specifications in the Act, the authority did not proceed as it was intended under the legislation? Is there no point at which the Minister can review the legislation, the authority or the code?

I appreciate the Minister's response, in which he referred to instances where balance may be required and where an automatic requirement for balance is considered inappropriate. If there is a closely fought referendum the former may apply.

Is there not a contradiction in the rulings on the two specific issues raised? They relate to the same issue, that is to say, the debate on marriage equality. One related to people talking about civil partnership some years after agreeing a civil partnership, what it meant to them and how they looked forward to marriage equality. The other related to the gay pride parade in Dublin. Of course we are going to talk about marriage equality in the context of that debate. Of course there should be no automatic expectation of a contrary view in that case. How could anyone interpret the code of the BAI to deem it necessary for a contrary view in these two instances, both of which relate to marriage equality? This does not look good for the BAI.

There are legitimate public concerns on this issue because many people have been talking about it. Where is the mechanism by which we can argue that there may be a legitimate reason for us not to interfere with the independence of the authority? How do we assess whether it is acting in accordance with the legislation as set up? The Irish Council for Civil Liberties expressed concern publicly about the possibility that some of these rulings could have a chilling effect on public debate. The National Union of Journalists referred to this decision being harmful to the public interest. Therefore, we cannot sit back and take the view that the authority is an independent entity which we set up in 2009 with a code drafted by the authority itself and therefore we cannot get involved. We must consider the matter and establish what mechanisms we can use to ensure it is acting in accordance with the best interests of public debate.

The Minister referenced other parts of the code in respect of issues of controversy. This is not an issue of controversy. Some people might have a difficulty accepting the way Irish society is going, but we should consider the public interest. Here we are one year before a referendum is to be held and people are talking about an event in which they are participating. As part of that discussion people are projecting a view on something that may happen in future and the broadcaster is doing the same. That is not controversial, and the BAI should not be able to intervene, declare this inappropriate and rule against the parties involved on the matter.

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