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BAI rejects Maria Bailey's complaint over 'untrue and damaging' comments made on RTÉ radio

The BAI determined that the subject matter was treated fairly and presented in an objective manner.

THE BROADCASTING AUTHORITY of Ireland (BAI) has rejected a complaint from former TD Maria Bailey over comments made about her deselection as a Fine Gael candidate during a panel discussion on Today with Sean O’Rourke.  

Bailey claimed “untrue and damaging” comments were made about her in relation to insurance fraud, remarks she said were not challenged by the presenter.

However, RTÉ said it did not accept that Bailey was defamed during the programme and that the discussion around insurance was made in the context of a wider debate on the topic. 

In January, Bailey confirmed she would not contest the following month’s general election. She pulled out of the race after a decision from Fine Gael in November to remove her from the election ticket in the constituency.

She had been under scrutiny over a personal injury case against the Dean Hotel in Dublin, which she launched after she fell off a swing on the premises. 

The incident happened in July 2015, when she was a county councillor, and came to media attention after a story was published in the Irish Independent in 2019. She later dropped the case.

Bailey was demoted by being removed as chairwoman of the Oireachtas Housing Committee following an internal party review which found that she “overstated” the extent of her injuries.

The complaint 

On 15 November 2019, the panel on the mid-morning current affairs show was discussing a variety of current and topical events, among them was Bailey’s recent deselection as a general election candidate. 

In her complaint to the BAI,  Bailey said she took issue with the discussion when one of the panellists referred to defrauding insurance, while another panellist discussed exaggerated insurance claims.

She acknowledged that one of the panellists defended her during the show by highlighting that she was not found to have made a fraudulent claim.

“The presenter interrupted the panellist to state that they did not say fraud, however, the complainant believes that the two panellists were clearly speaking about fraud,” the BAI report states. 

Bailey also took issue with comments made by the presenter in relation to a past matter related to her expenses. A matter she said was separate and “not under review”. 

She added that the broadcast did not reference her own press release but did mention one issued by Fine Gael – a statement she did not believe was adequately assessed for accuracy by RTÉ. 

In response to the complaint, RTÉ sad it is of the view that the comments were made in the context of a wider debate regarding insurance claims. 

The broadcaster said one panellist represented Bailey’s position during the programme and that the presenter twice emphasised that she was not being accused of fraud.

RTÉ added that it stands over the references to a statement issued by the Taoiseach on behalf of the Fine Gael party.

It also said that Bailey was invited to be interviewed on the programme in order to address her concerns regarding that broadcast on 15 November. 

“The broadcaster does not accept that the complainant was defamed by the programme.”

In rejecting the complaint, the Compliance Committee said it had considered Bailey’s views that the panellists had made untrue and damaging comments about her, that inaccurate information was used by the broadcaster, and that the presenter did not challenge the comments made by the panel. 

The Committee noted that although the presenter did not offer her own views, more clarity may have been provided regarding the panel’s comments on fraud. 

“However, when taken as a whole, the Committee determined that the subject matter was treated fairly and presented in an objective manner.”

The BAI concluded that the programme did not infringe the Code of Fairness, Objectivity and lmpartiality in News and Current Affairs and, as such, the complaint was rejected.

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25 Comments
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    Mute JusticeForJoe
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    Jun 10th 2020, 1:24 PM

    Fantastic. Please stop now, Maria

    1250
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    Mute Jake Kelly
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    Jun 10th 2020, 1:22 PM

    Her attempt to complain was a swing and a fall

    692
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    Mute Tony Gordon
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    Jun 10th 2020, 1:24 PM

    Does the wording ‘overstated’ translate to ‘lied’ ?

    611
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    Mute Niall Sheridan
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    Jun 10th 2020, 1:58 PM

    Still jumping up and down on her entitled little feet screaming unfair over falling off her swing!!!

    589
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    Mute
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    Jun 10th 2020, 1:24 PM

    Delighted, she’s an awful trouble maker that one

    608
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    Mute Mark Brown
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    Jun 10th 2020, 2:06 PM

    Swing and a miss from her. Her behaviour was abhorrent. Delighted.

    351
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    Mute cybersecsteve
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    Jun 10th 2020, 1:20 PM

    SHAAAAWWWWN

    265
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    Mute barney rock
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    Jun 10th 2020, 1:59 PM

    She would make a great actress.

    140
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    Mute Link
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    Jun 10th 2020, 2:30 PM

    @barney rock: No she wouldn’t. If Meryl Streep took a case for €380k, she’d walk away with €380k and still stay on the party ticket!

    77
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    Mute Modern Irish Dad
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    Jun 10th 2020, 1:26 PM

    A lot of comment sections seem to be getting closed. I am sure there’s a lot of reasons for this but it may be a good time to read/reread the comment section guidelines in the spirit of good debate.

    92
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    Mute Alex Fortune
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    Jun 10th 2020, 1:43 PM

    @Modern Irish Dad: her actions were astonishingly bad and people will give their opinion on it

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    Mute Modern Irish Dad
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    Jun 10th 2020, 1:50 PM

    @Alex Fortune: Thanks for that but I mean this in a general way across all posts where name calling and accusations have become the order of the day.

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    Mute Sylvia O'Regan
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    Jun 10th 2020, 2:38 PM

    @Modern Irish Dad: The Journal aren’t deleting threads and shutting down comments sections because of name calling. I get a lot of abuse online. Those comments are very rarely removed. The comments that reflect a spirit of real investigative journalism are the problem…

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    Mute Modern Irish Dad
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    Jun 10th 2020, 2:44 PM

    @Sylvia O’Regan: I noticed you took a lot of heat the other night and defended yourself very well but it must have been dificult, no?

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    Mute Des Doran
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    Jun 10th 2020, 1:51 PM

    Maybe Donald Trump,might swing by,and give her a job.

    97
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    Mute JMcB
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    Jun 10th 2020, 2:12 PM

    Maria, sometimes it is better to quit while your behind

    241
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    Mute TESSERACT2020
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    Jun 10th 2020, 1:26 PM

    Seán

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    Mute Sylvia O'Regan
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    Jun 10th 2020, 2:39 PM

    @TESSERACT2020:

    SHAAWWWWNNNNNnnnnnn!!!!!

    78
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    Mute Lochlainn Marcus
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    Jun 10th 2020, 2:06 PM

    O Maria go away!! Swings and roundabouts!!!

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    Mute Sean Higgins
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    Jun 10th 2020, 2:54 PM

    In fairness the BAI upheld no complaints against RTE in 2019 out of 45 complaints made regarding editorial standards…….

    51
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