RTÉ accused of putting 'gag' on charity adverts

RTÉ is interpreting broadcasting legislation in a manner which is "gagging" charities, the chief executive of Barnardos has said.

Fergus Finlay, who was speaking at a conference in Dublin yesterday for the voluntary sector, said a legal environment was emerging that would make it increasingly difficult for charities to work effectively.

He said a pattern was emerging that could be terminally damaging to the quality of public discourse in Ireland, to normal democratic ways of seeking change and to the "longer-term interests of the people we seek to represent".

Many of the organisations attending the conference, he said, are going to find their activities in the future very seriously curtailed by a pattern of legislative and administrative change.

A number of advertisements had recently been banned from airing on RTÉ, as they were regarded as political.

Among them were advertisements by the interim National Consumer Agency (NCA) seeking the public's views on the Groceries Order, and another by the human rights groups Afri and Frontline, for a conference on human rights defenders' work.

Another by the Irish Cancer Society had to be toned down before it could be aired.

Peter Feeney, head of public affairs policy at RTÉ, confirmed the advertisements were rejected or toned down by the broadcaster, but insisted there was no policy of "gagging" charities or advocacy groups.

He said the station was implementing Section 20 of the 1960 Broadcasting Act which prohibits RTÉ from accepting "any advertisement which is directed towards any religious or political end or has any relation to an industrial dispute".

He said the station's stance changed last year when a complaint from the traders' lobby group, Rgdata, about the NCA's advertisement seeking the public's views on the Groceries Order, was upheld by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission.

He said that while RTÉ was not happy with the ruling, it has meant the station has had to apply a more rigorous interpretation of Section 20. He said he had not had complaints on the new approach, which he hoped would still facilitate charities and advocacy groups to advertise. "I would invite Fergus Finlay to come in and discuss his concerns," Mr Feeney added.

Mr Finlay also referred yesterday to reforms of the Electoral Acts which, he said, extended their remit to cover third parties.

"A third party, under the Acts, is now defined as anyone other than a political party who accepts a donation larger than about €125," he said.

They must register with the Standards in Public Office Commission, he continued, and were prohibited from accepting foreign donations or donations over €6,348.69.

The commission has said the Acts could be interpreted to cover many bodies including Trócaire and the Society of St Vincent de Paul.

"Under this legislation it seems that we cannot raise or accept money from the public without being registered, effectively, as a political party."

He also raised concerns about the forthcoming Charities Bill which, he said, provided for a regulator with "complete discretion to decide whether the advocacy work undertaken by a charity is permissible or not in terms of the overall status of the charity itself".

REJECTED BY RTÉ: adverts under fire

From the interim National Consumer Agency, submitted last year:

"Do you have views on the Groceries Order which affects the price of your shopping basket? The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment want to hear what consumers think about the Order before July 31st. The National Consumer Agency believes consumers should make their voices heard. To learn more go to Irishconsumer.ie or call 01 6073015."

- RGDATA complained to the BCC saying the ad was inaccurate, unfair and unbalanced. The BCC agreed under Section 20 of the Broadcasting Act.

From the human rights NGOs Afri and Frontline, advertising a conference in Kildare: It said there would be "eyewitness accounts from the Niger Delta and Rossport, Darfur, Iraq and Shannon Airport". It was not deemed suitable under Section 20 of the Act.

From the Irish Cancer Society: the society was "lobbying the Government to urgently implement a free nationwide cervical cancer-screening programme." The society was asked to reword the ad before it could be aired.