RTE: Who to censor, who not

On Wednesday 5 November last, during a discussion on the RTE current affairs programme Late Debate, Labour Senator John Whelan stated that Bord Gais had made their pitch to establish Irish Water under false pretences.

The presenter of the show immediately distanced RTE from the allegations made by Senator Whelan. RTE felt the allegations were so serious that an editorial decision was taken to delete the relevant section from the podcast of the programme.

On today’s Morning Ireland the mother of Paul Quinn, who was brutally murdered in 2007, alleged that Sinn Fein’s Conor Murphy knows who murdered her son. The presenter of the show immediately distanced RTE from the allegations made by Mrs. Quinn.

Then, at the end of the show the following message was broadcast:

We (RTE) just want to make it clear that she (Mrs. Quinn) was speaking in a personal capacity and Morning Ireland does not in any way endorse her views.

The allegation made by Mrs. Quinn are infinitely more serious than those made by Senator Whelan.

It will be interesting therefore to see if her allegations are censored in the same manner.