RTÉ has welcomed the decision of the Broadcasting Complaints Commission (BCC) to reject recent complaints about a Prime Timeprogramme brodcast on January, 8th, 2004.
The programme highlighted a number of allegations of misconduct against gardaí and inadequacies in the complaints process.
The BCC decided that: "This edition of Prime Timewas a hard-hitting piece on an aspect of An Garda Síochána. It was a serious examination of a serious issue. The Commission noted this fact and acknowledged that it could understand the reaction of An Garda Síochána to the programme.
"However, the Commission believed that the subject matter of the programme was not unfair or unjust in light of the three well-documented cases that formed the core of the programme. It was a topic of public interest and it was presented in a balanced manner. Also the Gardaí were represented on the programme by the Assistant Commissioned. . . . The complaint was rejected".
At the conference of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI), the Garda Commissioner, Mr Noel Conroy, strongly criticised the
Prime Timeprogramme, describing it as "unbalanced and biased".
He said: "I firmly believe that if we as an organisation work the work, and not talk the talk, the people of this country will see for themselves that we care and will continue to give us their excellent support for policing this wonderful country," Mr Conroy told the conference.
Mr David Nally, Editor of RTÉ Current Affairs, said: We believe that the broadcast of the programme was in the public interest and continues a long tradition of investigative current affairs programming. We are pleased that the BCC has vindicated the programme."