RELIGIOUS ORGANISATIONS, including Veritas and the Irish Catholic newspaper, have welcomed the announcement by Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan that he plans to soften restrictions on religious advertising on television and radio.
Their comments came as it emerged that the Minister was lobbied on the matter by a number of church figures, including the Bishop of Clogher and chairman of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference’s communication commission, Dr Joseph Duffy.
He wrote to the Minister last October asking him to consider an amendment to legislation.
Dr Duffy’s letter to the Minister was sent after the Bill’s second stage reading in the Dáil. The bishop said he wanted to bring a statement from the bishops’ conference to the Minister’s attention.
The bishops asked that broadcasting of religious advertisements be permitted as long as the advertisement in question was not contrary to the common good.
“I would appreciate it if you would consider this amendment in the context of the Committee Stage of the Broadcasting Bill 2008,” Bishop Duffy wrote to Mr Ryan. The bishop also wrote to the Oireachtas communications committee with the same request.
The Broadcasting Bill 2008 was scheduled to begin report stage in the Dáil yesterday but other matters used up the time and it is now expected to be discussed today.
Mr Ryan said on Tuesday that current legislation had sometimes been interpreted in a narrow way and existing regulations might have encouraged that situation. “I don’t want to completely restrict advertising that has a religious connotation,” he said.
Veritas chief executive Maura Hyland welcomed Mr Ryan’s comments. A Christmas radio advertisement by Veritas, which is owned by the Catholic bishops, was banned by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) last December.
“The interpretation of the present broadcasting legislation made the job of Veritas, a legitimate trader in an open market place, virtually impossible,” Ms Hyland said. “We had a very good meeting on this particular issue with officials from the Department of Communications last month and clearly our concerns expressed have been listened to.”
BCI chief executive Michael O’Keeffe said his organisation would also welcome an amendment, “as it endorses the views expressed and the suggestions made by the commission to the Department of Communications in regard to this matter”.
Editor of the Irish Catholic newspaper Garry O’Sullivan described Mr Ryan’s comments as “a victory for common sense”. He said several advertisements for the Irish Catholic had been banned from radio stations.
Independent Senator Rónán Mullen welcomed what he described as a “sensible” move. “Some recent decisions by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland concerning religious advertising have been bizarre.”
