Sorcha Crowley
RTÉ is standing over You're A Star winning song We've Got The World and is refusing to bring a back-up song to next week's European Broadcasting Union (EBU) forum in Latvia.
Commissioning Editor Mr Kevin Linehan said last night he "will be bringing that song and that song only, as performed by Micky Joe Harte, to the EBU on Thursday".
"1.3 million people voted in the You're a Star final on Saturday night. We want their chosen singer Mickey Joe and chosen song We've Got The World to represent Ireland in the Eurovision in May," he said, adding that RTÉ was satisfied "the song is an original composition."
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) ordered last week that RTÉ submit two songs to the Eurovision entry committee, amid suggestions that the song is similar to a previous winner of the Eurovision Song Contest, Fly On The Wings of Love.
When asked why they were not bringing the back-up song as requested by the scrutineer for the Eurovision Song Contest, Ms Sarah Yuen, an RTÉ spokeswoman, said they were not aware Ms Yuen had asked them to bring a second song, but were "confident" they wouldn't need the back-up song.
"We're confident of the winning song and believe it will be the song sung by Mickey Joe Harte on the 24th of May in Riga," the spokeswoman said.
"The songwriter of Fly On The Wings of Love, Jorgen Olsen, said it wasn't copied and Phil Coulter also said it wasn't a copy so we are very happy it's not a copy," she added.
Next week's meeting with the European Broadcasting Union is a regular forum for delegations from each participating country to air their songs.
The RTÉ spokeswoman confirmed that a special "steering group of seven or eight members will listen to any controversial songs" at some stage during the forum, which will last all day Thursday and Friday morning.
"We don't know what time the Irish song will be played at but the verdict will be relatively immediate," she said.