A Wexford Senator says he would like to see organisations “working together to achieve good things for Co. Wexford.”
Malcom Byrne made the comments with Alan Corcoran on Morning Mix after an email between South East Radio and Wexford County Council appeared in the national newspapers over the weekend.
In the email from the 25th of March this year, the County Council set out a number of “criteria” which included asking for assurances that presenters would not be allowed to voice their own opinions, that unbroadcast material be kept for two years and that after the County Council received a right of reply on a subject it asked “that the matter should end there”.
This email was part of a discussion about an advertising agreement worth between 40 and 50 thousand euro.
In January the Standards in Public Office Commission found against Wexford County Council’s Chief Executive Tom Enright on all three alleged contraventions of the Local Government Act.
In its report SIPO said Mr. Enright “misused the councils position in effect throwing around the weight of the councils purse” and in doing so put pressure on South East Radio to alter its broadcasting practices.
In an email reply to Wexford County Council the Managing Director of South East Radio Eamonn Buttle said “our presenters will not be censored and South East Radio will not be surrendering its independence and integrity”
Malcom Byrne shared his thoughts on Morning Mix.
“It’s important that if there are times when I, as an elected representative, or Wexford County Council is held to scrutiny, or is subject to criticism, that they are entitled to be criticised.
“And equally indeed if something good happens that they should be praised.
“I would prefer to have a situation where we Wexford County Council and South East Radio working together to achieve good things for our county.”
Meanwhile, Wexford Independent TD has expressed concerns for the future of “freedom of the press and democracy” in Co. Wexford.
Verona Murphy also made her comments on South East Radio’s Morning Mix.
She said she brought this issue to the attention of the Taoiseach in the Dáil.
“I’m going to quote what the Taoiseach had to say in response.
“He says; ‘there can not be any intent to influence the content of any local radio discussion, even if there are advertisements that emanate from the council’.
“The report that I read on Saturday morning, less than 12 weeks after the SIPO report, and less than 6 weeks after An Taoiseach remarks on the floor of the Dáil, we see it in national headlines that the very same breach of ethics has occurred.
“This is a very serious assault on the the very fundamentals of democracy.”
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