RTÉ Election 2007

MEDIA INTELL

Intriguing name, but what is it all about?

Media Intell looks at how the media has performed during the campaign and how the parties have performed in the media.

In addition to Prime Time's Fact Check and Behind the Spin segments, Media Intell gives you a peek inside the communications machine and tracks the news coverage using cutting-edge Web 2.0 technology.

Using Dow Jones' Factiva Insight, monitor how the media is covering the parties, issues and regions.

Click here for your first briefing

FACT CHECKER

Prime Time's Donagh Diamond looks at what the campaign say verses the facts.

Hospital Beds

Fine Gael have come under fire from Fianna Fáil over its promise to deliver another 2,300 hospital beds. FF say Enda Kenny's plan is a 'sham' and that the claim is not properly funded.

But who's got it right?

Fine Gael: Say that the capital cost of providing 2,300 extra hospital beds will cost €850m and that they will use money from the acute hospitals sub-division of National Development Plan to provide the beds

Fianna Fáil: They say that FG's capital cost figure is too low to cover the amount of beds, and that the NDP figure is budgeted to cover just 500 extra beds. They say that taking the money from the NDP for five times that figure will mean cutbacks in other sections of the health system.

Fact: Fine Gael can use the money from the NDP, but it seems very hard to believe that they can provide 2,300 beds without cutbacks in other areas of the health system. 

Policing

On the 29 April edition of 'The Week In Politics', Fianna Fáil Minister Brian Lenihan challenged Fine Gael deputy leader Richard Bruton on his party's policing pledge. 

Who was right?

Fine Gael: Will put 2,000 new Gardaí on the street
Fianna Fáil: Fine Gael will only put 1,000 new Gardaí if you count the cadets who are already being trained by us
Fact: Fine Gael would only increase Garda numbers by 1,000

The Rumble in Ranelagh

A leaflet distributed by the Progressive Democrats attacking the Greens became the centre of the Rumble in Ranelagh.

Does it really contain false information like Green chairman John Gormley claims?

PD leaflet: Greens will raise corporate taxes
Fact: Current Green platform would NOT raise corporate taxes

PD leaflet: Greens will cut tax relief on personal pensions
Fact: It is a possibility, but the Greens would replace it with a SSIA matching contribution scheme

PD leaflet: Greens want to ban fluoridation in the country's water supply
Fact: Greens want to conduct a nationwide survey and only ban it if there is a dangerous uptake

BEHIND THE SPIN

8 May

Katie Hannon looks at how the latest stories about the Ahern payments controversy have altered the focus of media coverage of the election campaign

3 May

Prime Time went Behind the Spin to look at Thursday's heated exchange between Bertie Ahern and RTÉ Radio presenter Vincent Browne.

Was the Taoiseach ambushed or was Vincent addressing an issue at the forefront of voters' minds?

Watch Katie Hannon's report and a debate between Minister Noel Dempsey, Labour's Eamon Gilmore and Green Party chairperson John Gormley.