Labour TD Michael D Higgins has criticised RTE for cutting its radio coverage of the Dáil.
The former minister for arts and culture said the 15-minute Oireachtas report programme on RTE Radio One had been cut back recently by two minutes.
"It's deeply disappointing. Rather than cutting back on Oireachtas Report, they should be focusing on deepening their coverage of Oireachtas affairs," he said.
The radio show is broadcast on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11.40pm and repeated on Sunday evenings.
The 15-minute version often came perilously close to the 12am news bulletin due to run overs from the shows preceding it, such as Tonight with Vincent Browne and the sports news.
It is understood that the Oireachtas report team resisted the cut, which was eventually imposed last month by RTE's scheduling department.
Mr O'Higgins said cutting the length of the show to 13 minutes contradicted RTE's duty as a public service broadcaster.
"The whole purpose is to deepen citizenship. If you really believe in doing a good job, you would be going in the direction of new structures for Oireachtas coverage, rather than cutting back the minimal thing they have for insomniacs by two minutes."
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte remarked several years ago that
only 'drunks and insomniacs' watched the late night television version of Oireachtas Report.
The programme's use of television footage from the Dáil is governed by Rules of Coverage which ensure that `proceedings are televised in a dignified and decorous manner appropriate to the business of Parliament'.
However, the biggest restriction on the makers of Oireachtas report is the lack of a Dáil studio to view footage from all cameras the House simultaneously.
They must instead work from RTE studios in Donnybrook, where only two live camera feeds can be viewed.
The Oireachtas Broadcasting committee has so far refused requests for the necessary office space.
An RTE spokeswoman denied any cuts had been made to the running time of Oireachtas Report on Radio One.
"The allotted time is 12-13 minutes. That's always the time Oireachtas Report has had," she said.
Despite being contacted on two further occasions with information that this was not the case, RTE stood over its denial.
"Recently the show overran and the team were reminded by people in scheduling of the need to stop over-running. But there was absolutely no question of a cut," said the spokeswoman.
She added that despite the perception that Oireachtas Report was broadcast too late, it was in fact scheduled in the `best possible position'.
"It's properly placed after the Vincent Browne show, which has a similar audience, and it's attracting an average audience of 41,000 listeners. We feel that maximises the audience rather than minimises the audience," she said.
PA