Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tá áthas orm a bheith in ann seasamh anseo agus tacaíocht a thabhairt don rún atá os ár gcomhair anocht. Cuirim fáilte roimh an pobal LGBT atá inár measc anseo agus na hionadaithe atá anseo ar a son. Braithim i ndáiríre go mbaineann an díospóireacht seo le cúrsaí cinsireachta, seachas díreach an gné atá pléite.

I support the motion and the opportunity it affords for discussion. The politics of this debate centre on the censorship of certain views. Rory O'Neill's interview on the "Saturday Night Show" was taken off the RTE website and compensation was quickly paid out to certain individuals who are not shy when it comes to expressing their own opinions. This amounts to censorship of Mr. O'Neill and a denial of his right as a gay person to name homophobia. We question the speed at which RTE paid out compensation to these individuals and the legal advice it received before doing so. The national broadcaster receives significant public funding and, as a result, it is a matter of public interest that the legal advice it received be published in full. The payout from RTE has huge implications for the way in which debate on social issues is conducted on our airwaves, with small unrepresentative groups having the potential to set the parameters of what is considered acceptable debate. This particular case is unusual in that it has received far more attention than any other defamation claim levelled at RTE and, as such, the public has a right to see the advice on which the State broadcaster acted. I am calling on the Minister to ensure RTE publishes that advice.