Madam, - I must respond to Vincent Browne's remarks about RTÉ News bulletins in his column of November 7th and reject his claim that there is an agenda in RTÉ to over-report crime.
Our bulletins last Monday morning led with the fact that seven men were to be charged later that day with the attempted armed robbery at Celbridge the previous Friday because it was an important story.
The fact that seven men were to be charged with conspiracy was a significant development in the context of an ongoing issue of public importance. The deployment of armed gardaí on the streets of Dublin was itself newsworthy.
There were traffic diversions in and around Kilmainham to accommodate the seven Garda vans carrying the suspects to and from court.
Vincent Browne writes that "it had been known from the time of the robbery that the men allegedly caught in the act would be charged". I don't know how he could have been so certain of this.
Nobody knew they were going to be charged until the DPP directed it. In fact one Sunday newspaper reported (erroneously as it transpired) that all of the seven men were unlikely to face charges.
Regarding his comments on the Portlaoise cancer story, this was extensively covered by RTÉ News, including significant interviews, over the weekend; so it is nonsense to suggest that RTÉ has under-reported this issue.
Our midlands correspondent, Ciaran Mullooly, broke the story on the RTÉ News at One programme the previous Friday and RTÉ News television and radio bulletins have covered it extensively since.
It is also untrue to claim that RTÉ News has ignored corporate crime. This issue has been comprehensively covered by our legal affairs correspondent, Orla O'Donnell. Over the years RTÉ News has built up a very strong record in breaking public finance stories. - Yours, etc,
MICHAEL GOOD, Managing Editor, RTÉ News