Minister for Communications Patrick O’Donovan has said he should have phrased his comments on media coverage of recent fuel protests differently in hindsight and admitted he “made a hames” of what he was trying to say.
The Minister told Tipp FM last week that he would be “examining” coverage of the blockades “from a balance point of view”. He suggested there had been insufficient coverage of people who disagreed with protesters’ methods and said RTÉ’s coverage of the blockade at Whitegate fuel refinery was “almost like a flare” in drawing attention to it.
The National Union of Journalists described the comments as “sinister and deeply disturbing”, while Tánaiste Simon Harris, the leader of O’Donovan’s Fine Gael party, said he believed there was “no need for any sort of formal review”.
Speaking to RTÉ’s News At One on Friday, O’Donovan said he could have used “a better formula of words”.
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“One of the things that we can all take from the previous 10 days is that we should all be able to look back and say, ‘Is there anything that I would have done differently?’” he said.
“In hindsight, I should have used the word engage, chat to, talk to, which is exactly what I did on Tuesday.
“When I met Coimisiún na Meán, they told me that they have upwards of 200 different complaints with regard to media coverage.
“I didn’t overstep the mark, but what I think I did do is I probably made a hames of what I was trying to say, which was that at the end of the day it is very important in a democracy that everybody’s voice is heard.”
The Minister confirmed through a spokesman on Tuesday that he was not seeking a review.
On Friday, he set out his track record on media freedom, including schemes related to local democracy, court reporting and Coimisiún na Meán itself, adding that he “respects the role they have”.
“They’re not the actions I think of somebody who wants to interfere,” he said.
