Minister for Communications Patrick O'Donovan has said that he will be asking Coimisiún na Meán to review the media coverage, including coverage from RTÉ News, of the fuel protests in recent days.
He was speaking on local radio stations including Tipp Fm, WLRFM and Limerick Live 95 this morning, where he outlined how he had received calls into his constituency office from people saying that while they were in favour of a protest, they were against blockading.
"There were people protesting who disagreed with blockades and I never heard their voices," he outlined.
He added that he would be asking if the coverage was "balanced or was it skewed and I think that's a role for Coimisiún na Meán?"
"Coimisiún na Meán may turn around to me and say 'nothing to see here, move along move along', but I'm going to ask them the question anyway," he said.
The minister stated that there would be an examination of the coverage on social media too, particularly from a balance point of view.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) described the remarks as "sinister and deeply disturbing".
NUJ assistant general secretary Séamus Dooley said the minister had drawn a false equivalence to justify interference in the editorial independence of public service broadcasters and licensed radio services.
Mr Dooley said that Mr O'Donovan was in a position to influence funding and policy and should not pressure independent media.
He added that journalists have a duty to report events, and noted the abuse of reporters during the protests.
Mr Dooley urged that respect for independent journalism be demonstrated, and warned there that is no place for "Trumpian" attacks on journalists.
In response to the minister's comments, Coimisiún na Meán stated that "we are aware that the minister has expressed concern in relation to recent broadcast coverage of the fuel protests."
It adds that "Coimisiún na Meán operates a statutory complaints process under the Broadcasting and Other Media Regulation Acts 2009".
It is understood that the minister is due to meet with Coimisiún na Meán tomorrow, as part of his regular schedule of discussions with them, where he will "no doubt raise a number of issues including media coverage of the last week," his spokesperson said, adding that he is "interested in examining the amount of complaints the regulator may have received on the issues involved here".
