The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland said today broadcasters will no longer be required to give equal airtime to the opposing sides in the forthcoming Lisbon Treaty campaign.
Following the first Lisbon Treaty some broadcasters had complained they were “strait-jacketed” by the BCI rules.
Today's BCI statement says there is "no requirement to allocate an absolute equality of airtime to opposing sides of the referendum debate during editorial coverage".
However, it notes that the proportion of airtime allocated to opposing sides "must be fair to all interests and undertaken in a transparent manner".
It also states the requirement to ensure the total time allocated to political party broadcasts "will result in equal airtime being afforded to parties that support the referendum proposals and those that oppose them”.
The vote on the Lisbon Treaty referendum will be held on October 2nd. The guidelines take effect from this Friday.