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Labour to table Bill to clarify law on adverts by campaign groups

Issued : Thursday 8 March, 2007

The Labour Party is to table a Private Members Bill to clarify the law in regard to the right of campaign groups to use radio and television advertising to promote their campaigns.

The President of the Labour Party, Michael D. Higgins said today that he believed that the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) was wrong in its interpretation of the Radio and Television Act of 1988 when it instructed a number of commercial radio and television stations to cease broadcasting an advertisement for Trocaire on the grounds that it constituted a 'political' advertisement.

"I support the general prohibition on party political advertising. However, I do not believe that when the Oireachtas enacted this legislation it was ever intended that it would be used to block an information campaign aimed at raising public awareness about gender inequality in the developing world.

"If broadcasters are going to be put in a dilemma and face uncertainty about the position of the B.C.I. every time they are asked to broadcast an advertisement such as this, then I think that the prudent approach would be to amend the law to bring clarity to the situation.

"The Private Members Bill I am tabling will draw a clear distinction between party political advertising and the sort of information campaigns organised by
campaign groups or NGOs.

"Essentially, under the terms of our amendment, the prohibition on advertising will be restricted to advertisements designed to:

(a) to promote or oppose, directly or indirectly, the interests of a political party, a political group, a member of either House of the Oireachtas or a representative in the European Parliament;

(b) to promote or oppose, directly or indirectly, the election of a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European Parliament election or to solicit votes for or against a candidate at an election; or

(c) otherwise to influence the outcome of an election.

"This is a simple Bill that would not detain the Dail for too long. Indeed I would be very happy in the government would adopt our proposal and incorporate it into the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill currently before the Dail. However it is done, there is an obligation on the Oireachtas to now more to bring clarity to the situation."