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AOIFE KAVANAGH, THE reporter on the RTÉ Prime Time Investigates Mission to Prey programme that defamed Fr Kevin Reynolds has resigned this evening in the wake of a highly critical report of the programme, RTÉ said this evening.
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland has this evening published its report into the programme which falsely claimed that Reynolds had fathered a child while working as missionary in Africa in the 1980s. RTÉ has been fined €200,000 for breaching the Broadcasting Act.
According to tweets from RTÉ colleague and news presenter Bryan Dobson on Twitter, Kavanagh said that she “does not accept many of the findings” in the BAI report “in relation to the manner in which I carried out my work”.
She has apologised to Reynolds “for the hurt caused to him” by the programme. Kavanagh had not been involved in RTÉ News and Current Affairs division since a High Court settlement last year in which RTÉ agreed to pay damages to Reynolds for libel.
The BAI report by former BBC executive, Anna Carragher, was highly critical of the process of making the programme including the attempts to corroborate allegations made against Reynolds and note-taking throughout the programme making process.
Carragher is also critical of Kavanagh’s failure to probe the allegations against Reynolds during an on-camera interview with the woman who claimed she had given birth to Reynolds’ child.
The investigator’s report said that Kavanagh’s doorstep interview with Reynolds “made statements which assumed guilty” and raised questions about the reporter’s compliance with guidelines.
Kavanagh has this evening resigned from the station after 16 years in which she worked in a number of roles including foreign correspondent. From Co Wexford, she previously presented on Morning Ireland and worked on Prime Time.
The Mission to Prey programme had been her first assignment with Prime Time Investigates, a programme format which has since been shelved following the defamatory broadcast last year.
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Great article
Funny when you see the figures involved:
This could cost the taxpayer €250million:
The amounts involved:
40,000
15,000
30,000
Blah blah blah – its simply jobs for the boys, the solicitors, barristers who are are in the pockets of fianna fail.
Will anyone be sent to jail on foot of this reports conclusions? No. And I’ll gladly put money on that.
Will we get value for money ?
Will we f*** !
Around €1.25million per week this has cost, I hope it’s not a complete waste of money.
Hi Peter you’ve a typo there – you typed “I hope it’s not” by mistake
A state rotten to the core
I wonder will the law society or the Law profession in general be embarrassed by the obscene amounts they charged for their services… Like the Bondholders, is there an option to “Burn” the lawyers??
“won it on the horses” this man sits on the council of state and receives a massive pension from the state when he should be in jail. . .what an absolute joke.
The Irish people let this happen, they let anglo bankers get away with lying to our government to get billions, with puttung us in so much debt itll take the next 30 to 40 years to pay back, and then they all but gave away billions of oil and gas for free to foreign companies and yet we still do nothing.
Nothing will happen, nothing will change, nothing ever does. This country is a s**thole and I am beyond caring at this point. FG/Labour will have a field day with this one and they will conveniently ignore the fact that they were in government when the Michael Lowry/Esat debacle happened. and what happened there? Sweet FA. The sad realisation is that they are all crooks, every last bloody one of them. Sorry for the rant but it just seems to be one disgrace after another and I am frustrated at the inaction.
While I was never an admirer of bob geldof one thing he was right with was banana rupublic it turns my stomach to still see Bertie Ahern sit at the table of the council of state he has no shame!
Keep in mind the Irish people kept voting in Ahern throughout all this.
You get what you vote for so it’s little surprise where we’ve ended up. To think that Fianna Fail are second in current opinion polls is mind blowing.
Brilliant article! Bring back public executions……watch how the politicians will hound the ordinary Irish person for non-payment of the 100 Euro housing tax! The claim by THIS Government that there’s not enough money in the coffers and therefore more has to be raised. Bleedin’ cheats!
Now lets see some justice enough has been swept under the carpet,
Great article…. However, the time and resources are a waste. It is a waste because the tribunal lacks the power to do anything. Any findings are sent to the Gardai so they can complete their investigation… Usually duplicating the work of a tribunal. How can a waste of such money be rationalized?
Load of shite ….sure did ya know the court room there in was done as a nixer
Because I tiled it with slate . Builder at time didn’t pay the tax on it
Vincent Browne grilling Bertie is so good. It was a lovely nod to history when VinB went off on PJ Mara.
Very good article though…
Great summary. Thanks!
B B B Bertie….Ya B B B Bollix!!!!
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