THE PRESIDENT of the Irish Road Haulage Association, Jimmy Quinn, has stepped aside from his role in the organisation temporarily pending a legal action he said he is taking against RTÉ. Mr Quinn said he was instigating a libel complaint against the State broadcaster following a Prime Timeprogramme, entitled Slave Labour Ireland, which was shown on Monday night.
"I figured briefly in the programme and I am in the process of lodging a libel complaint against RTÉ. I have decided to step aside from my role for the moment until that complaint is dealt with," he said.
Mr Quinn said he would also complain to the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland. He is not paid for his role as president of the group, which is a non-profit organisation funded by members' subscriptions and sponsorship arrangements. He said he received "minimal expenses".
During the programme, Prime Timesaid it had uncovered documents relating to a Labour Relations Commission case previously taken by a driver against a company owned by Mr Quinn.
Prime Timesaid the commission found against the company in July 2007 on a number of grounds and questioned Mr Quinn about this in the programme. Mr Quinn paused for about 12 seconds and then said: "I think it's very unfair that somebody would be tried twice for the same offence. I went through all this at the Labour Court."
The programme put it to Mr Quinn that the driver was awarded compensation but had not received any money a year and a half later. Mr Quinn then said: "I'm going to adjourn this interview for legal advice."
The interview was resumed three days later and Mr Quinn responded further to the claims.
Responding to the association's statement, a spokeswoman for RTÉ said Prime Timestood over the programme's content.
"At this point, RTÉ has not received any communication from Mr Quinn and therefore cannot comment on the matter," she said.
Jerry Kiersey, an association council member who spoke in a personal capacity, said: "Jimmy Quinn is a decent man. There are many issues in the industry Jimmy Quinn and others have been trying to get right. Yet Prime Timeused a major slot to attack the president of the association on what was not a directly related issue."
Meanwhile, the association said it planned to begin "line-by-line investigation" of accusations made in the programme against three named haulage companies.
For the time being, the association's vice president, Liam Brewer, will undertake Mr Quinn's role .
"The IRHA will not condone any law-breaking on the part of its members, and will not support action which endanger public safety," Mr Brewer said.
"We're committed to bringing our industry to the highest levels of professionalism and responsibility."
A spokeswoman for the Department of Transport said: "The department is examining the issues raised in the Prime Timeprogramme and will be following up with the hauliers mentioned, with regard to licensing issues."
