Eight separate complaints against RTÉ One's NYE Countdown 2020 programme were upheld by the Compliance Committee of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI).
Complaints against the NYE programme related to a satirical news sketch concerning God being convicted of sexual crimes.
The sketch was reviewed by the RTÉ Editorial Standards Board and was found not to comply with specific statutory and regulatory provisions.
An apology from RTÉ Director General Dee Forbes was published on 7 January and RTÉ made a voluntary disclosure of non-compliance to the BAI and did not contest the complaints received.
The BAI Compliance Committee noted that the editorial brief for the programme described the New Year's Eve slot as "shared family viewing time" and "it would be reasonable to expect more children in the audience on New Year’s Eve night than any other night".
It also noted that "the likely audience for this programme would be larger in comparison to previous New Year’s Eve nights because of the public health restrictions in place to suppress the spread of Covid-19, which required most people to stay at home".
Principle 5 - Respect for Persons and Groups in Society - was cited among the complaints upheld.
The committee concluded that the "treatment of a religious figure did not show due respect for religious views and beliefs and did not constitute critical scrutiny of religion".
A separate complaint against the Brendan O'Connor Show on RTÉ Radio 1 on 29 November 2020 was upheld in one of two categories.
The complaint related to a comment made by a guest when describing a character in the 1967 film Hombre.
The broadcaster subsequently apologised for any offence caused and said the comment was not included in the preparatory material for the item.
The BAI found the reference to be "highly offensive and inappropriate" adding: "By failing to take immediate corrective action to demonstrate clearly that this reference was unacceptable, the presenter and the contributor appeared to make light of the term.
"By allowing the use of such language, the broadcaster failed in its duty of care to the audience."
The committee upheld the complaint under Principle 1 of the Code of Programme Standards (Respect for Community Standards) but not under Principle 5 (Respect for Persons and Groups in Society).
The BAI said its view was that the item did not stigmatise, support, condone discrimination or incite to hatred.
The remaining complaints that were upheld in part related to discussions and interviews regarding the repeal of the Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution in 2018 on either Newstalk Breakfast or Newstalk's The Hard Shoulder, or both on 10 December 2020.
Two complaints about RTÉ's Late Late Toy Show on 27 November 2020, which related to a segment where a child mimicked giving the Pfizer vaccine to her toy dog, were not upheld.
Complaints against RTÉ's Six One News, Drivetime, The Ryan Tubridy Show, Deirdre O'Kane Talks Funny and Virgin Media One's The Green Room were also among the 11 complaints that were not upheld.
