The Minister responsible for the National Drugs Strategy has said she has "grave concerns" over a decision by Virgin Media to air a television documentary featuring interviews with convicted drug trafficker John Gilligan.
Gilligan will feature in a three part series to be broadcast tomorrow night at 10pm.
The crime boss was the leader of the gang responsible for the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin.
Minister Hildegarde Naughton told RTÉ's This Week, that Gilligan’s actions "caused untold misery and devastation right across the communities of Ireland".
"I don’t think the producers have exercised particularly good judgement by giving John Gilligan the opportunity to speak about his actions on national television," she added.
She said she had "grave concerns" about the decision to show the programme and she would not be watching it.
However, she said she believed in freedom of the press, and it was a matter for the broadcaster to make its own decisions adding, "I would question the merit of programmes like this".
The brother of the late journalist has also criticised the decision to show the documentary.
Jimmy Guerin said Gilligan has used the documentary makers to "get his lies peddled."
"It is not right for journalists to glorify somebody like John Gilligan," he said.
"I don’t believe the way to portray the image of a criminal is to allow the criminal to portray that himself."
He said his family was disappointed and hurt that journalists would allow Gilligan a platform to tell lies.
Asked if Virgin Media should withdraw the programme, Mr Guerin said: "I think it’s wholly inappropriate for this programme to be shown at all, but I don’t believe that will happen.
"This will have a wide viewership, so I don’t see that happening, there is an appetite for crime stories, there will be an appetite for the programme unfortunately so I don’t see that happening, but would I like that it didn’t go out? Of course I would. Do I think it’s appropriate that it goes out? Of course I don't," he said.
The makers of the documentary have defended the decision to interview Gilligan.
Journalist Jason O'Toole said he was surprised at the controversy and pointed out that other convicted criminals have been interviewed in the past by other media.
One of the documentary makers David Harvey, CEO of Peninsula Television, said he rejected completely the possibility that the documentary would be a glorification of John Gilligan.
Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week, he said: "For such a significant and notorious figure to go on the record on national media at any point would be something that most organisations could not refuse the opportunity to show."
"We’ve had other programmes like this in the past, but to suggest that we are out glorifying Gilligan is simply ridiculous" he said.
He said the programme would be balanced with the views of significant figures, including former gardaí and journalists who would "disabuse the ideas that John Gilligan put forward".
Asked if he considered the ethical or moral question of whether it was right to make the film Mr Harvey said: "I would have more experience of dealing with Veronica Guerin than most people who are giving out about it, so I did take a step back.
"But I also looked at this as a significant piece of landmark television to get John Gilligan on the national media, and secondly we are in the television business so if you had a scoop like this would you go after it?"
Mr Harvey said he does not know why Gilligan agreed to be interviewed, but he did not think the crime boss had anything to gain by going on television.
He rejected suggestions that the makers of the documentary were being used by Gilligan for his own aims.
Gilligan ordered to stand trial in Spain
Meanwhile, Gilligan has been ordered to stand trial in Spain on drugs and weapons charges.
He has been warned he faces more than eight years in jail if found guilty.
Spanish state prosecutors demanded Gilligan receive an 18-month prison sentence for unlawful weapons possession after a gun Spanish police linked to Ms Guerin’s assassination was found hidden in the back garden of Gilligan's Costa Blanca home in 2020.
Detectives said when he was arrested in October 2020 the gun was the "same make and model" as the one used to kill Ms Guerin in June 1996.
