Ray D’Arcy has landed himself in hot water this week after a ruling was agreed on a complaint about his show.
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland made a complaint against an interview which was done on The Ray D’Arcy Show on the 19th of October 2015.
The interview was with Father Ted creater Graham Linehan and his wife Helen over their experience with abortion last year.
The couple spoke to Ray about their foetus being diagnosed with fatal foetal abnormality when it was 12 weeks old and so they decided that it was best to undergo an abortion.
The couple were living in England at the time.
A complaint was lodged to the BAI claiming that the interview was an “attack of the Eighth Amendment” of the Irish Constitution, which grants equal rights to life of the mother and the unborn child.
The complaint stated that Ray D’Arcy was largely in agreement with the guests and didn’t challenge them on the topic enough.
It also raised the question as to why no balancing views were offered during the interview.
RTE responded to the complaint by saying that it was a human interest piece which focussed on a personal trauma.
Despite this, the BAI ruled that the interview wasn’t fair, balanced or impartial, regardless of claims made by the national broadcaster.
