RTE defends report on prison site purchase
RTE’s Prime Time programme tonight said it rejected Justice Minister Michael McDowell’s comments that its report on the Mountjoy Jail relocation site was grossly misleading and insisted that it stood over the accuracy and fairness of the coverage.
Mr McDowell today said Prime Time’s 10-minute report on the €30m north Co Dublin site by RTE’s current affairs flagship was discussed at Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting and he had written a letter of complaint to each RTE Authority member.
Refusing to be drawn on whether he was seeking an apology from the national broadcaster, he said today: “It is up to the authority to decide how to address the wrong that has been done.”
The nine-member board, which is now chaired by businessman Fintan Drury, is appointed by the Government every five years to oversee strategic planning at the station.
In a short statement, a senior Prime Time spokesperson said tonight: “In response to the Minister for Justice’s remarks in Dublin earlier today, Prime Time repeats that it rejects his comments and stands over the accuracy and fairness of its report on the Thornton Hall prison site last Tuesday.”
Mr McDowell earlier told reporters in Dublin: “I feel huge disappointment that our national broadcaster departed so radically from the standards of objectivity and impartiality that are laid down in the statutes regarding the coverage of current affairs issues.
“I am today writing to each member of the RTE Authority to bring that to their attention and ask them to take action to ensure it never happens again.
“It’s not up to me to judge the motives of those who departed from those standards and get into a game of accusation and counter accusation.
“I just know what I saw was grossly lacking in impartiality and objectivity and grossly misleading to the Irish people as to the transactions that were being described.”
Prime Time raised questions about how the 150-acre site at Thornton Hall was selected and how the purchase price was negotiated.
The location will house 1,000 prison inmates as well as patients from the Central Mental Hospital.
Moving a Fine Gael motion on the issue on Wednesday, justice spokesman Jim O’Keeffe described the acquisition of the land as “crazy and illogical“.
Labour TD Joe Costello called on public finances watchdog, the Comptroller and Auditor General to review how the Thornton Hall site was purchased.
Local residents opposed to the super-prison development, the Rolestown and St Margaret’s Action Group also marched on Leinster House.
The land deal – at almost €200,000 an acre – is due to be finalised next month.
