Making a complaint about a TV or radio programme

Information

Under the Broadcasting Act 2009 since 1 October 2009 the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has replaced the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission (BCC) and will regulate both commercial and public service broadcasting. The BAI is an independent statutory body that evaluates and judges complaints from members of the public about material that is broadcast in Ireland. This material includes radio and television programmes and advertisements broadcast by all public, commercial and community radio and television broadcasters in the State.

The BAI judges broadcast material in relation to:

• Impartiality in news and current affairs,
• Taste and decency,
• Law and order
• Privacy of an individual,
• Slander,
• Codes of standards and practice to be complied with in relation to advertising, teleshopping, sponsorship and commercial promotion,
• Published matter in relation to RTÉ and Ministerial prohibitions.

Members of the BAI are nominated by Government and hold office for a period of five years.

Impartiality

Broadcasters in Ireland must ensure that the news they broadcast is reported and presented in an objective and impartial manner, i.e., they present the news without expressing their own views. Two or more related broadcasts may be considered as a whole if they are transmitted within a reasonable period of time.

Taste and decency

Every broadcaster must ensure that it does not broadcast anything that may reasonably be regarded as offending good taste or decency, in particular in respect of:

• The portrayal of violence and sexual conduct or
• Being likely to promote or incite crime or as tending to undermine the authority of the State.

Law and order

Every broadcaster must ensure that it does not broadcast anything that can be reasonably be regarded as likely to promote or incite crime or as tending to undermine the authority of the State.

Privacy of an individual

It is the duty of the broadcaster to ensure that the privacy of an individual is not unreasonably encroached upon in programmes broadcast by it and in the means employed to make such programmes.

Slander

The BAI will consider complaints where it is alleged that statements made in a broadcast included inaccurate information or facts which had the effect of amounting to an attack on the dignity, reputation or honour of the person about whom the statements were made.

Advertising, teleshopping, sponsorship and commercial promotion codes

Every broadcaster must work within an established Code of Standards, Practice and Prohibition in Advertising, Sponsorship and other forms of Commercial Promotion in Broadcasting Services.

Published material

Members of the public can bring complaints if they feel that any specified matter relating to news or current affairs (including matters of public controversy or current public debate) that was published, distributed or sold by the RTE Authority included matter that might reasonably be regarded as likely to promote or incite crime or tend to undermine the authority of the State.

Ministerial prohibitions

Where the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources believes that the broadcasting of a particular matter or any matter of a particular class would be likely to promote or incite to crime or would tend to undermine the authority of the State, he or she may direct broadcasters to refrain from broadcasting the matter or any matter of the particular class/. Broadcasters must comply with this order.