RADIO Limerick One yesterday lost its High Court challenge to a decision of the Independent Radio and Television Commission to terminate its licence.
Mr Adrian Hardiman SC, for the IRTC, said it would be sometime before advertisements were placed for a new contract and his clients would have no objection to Radio Limerick One continuing to broadcast in the meantime.
The IRTC served notice on the station last February. It alleged there had been 17 breaches of its contract under the Radio and Television Act of 1988.
Radio Limerick One had claimed the IRTC's decision was prompted by bias by a former employee and a member of the commission, Ms Eileen Brophy. Following a breakdown in settlement talks, the High Court beard the dispute last July.
Mr Justice Smyth in his judgment said the IRTC had an abundance of evidence upon which to form the opinion to terminate the contract with the radio station. While the evidence did not sustain the challenge of bias, this was the aspect of the application that caused him the greatest concern.
In the background, said the judge, was the "spectral figure" of Ms Brophy. She was a one time employee of the station. Her termination of service was accompanied by controversy and the payment of a substantial sum of money.
Almost immediately after Ms Brophy left the station in 1994, the series of complaints leading to the notice of termination gathered momentum.
Mr Justice Smyth said the station's chief executive, Mr Madden, clearly surmised Ms Brophy was in some way responsible for what he perceived as harassment by the IRTC. Having read the affidavits of two members of the IRTC one could at least understand Mr Madden's point of view.
However, the judge said, he was left with the impression after both members were cross examined that Mr Madden's view was surmise - that did not amount to bias.
Notwithstanding what was stated concerning the non involvement of Ms Brophy in the considerations and deliberations of the IRTC in coming to its decision, one was left with a disquieting frame of mind but no evidence to prove bias.
It was singularly unfortunate that the radio station was contractually bound to accept a news package in full from an agency whose composition included items from a journalist with whom the radio station had serious differences.
Mr Justice Smyth said he did not accept the IRTC's submission that the pool of fit and proper persons suitably qualified to serve on the Commission was so small that circumstances such as had occurred in this case were inevitable.
Mr Justice Smyth said in many instances Radio Limerick One had adopted a cavalier or laissez faire attitude to contractual obligations.
The rights conferred by the contract had a corresponding range of duties on the radio station which it ought to have been assiduous to protect.
The contract had in built a certain self monitoring requirement this in effect placed an obligation of contractual honour on the station, which it wholly failed to meet.
The IRTC had taken issue not once but several times with the Limerick station on some matters. Such efforts as were made to allay the concerns of the IRTC were poor in the extreme, in some instances unconvincing and in general most unsatisfactory by any standards.
Mr Michael O'Keeffe, head of the IRTC, said it would now be the Commission's intention to advertise the franchise. That procedure would take four to six months.