THE Labour MEP, Ms Bernie Malone, has accused Gay Byrne of incitement to hatred after the RTE broadcaster urged listeners to complain to the Tanaiste about the traffic disruption caused by last week's EU summit.
Ms Malone told an Oireachtas committee that her "blood boiled" when she heard "a certain broadcaster" on RTE say the summit was "only good for stopping the traffic". This broadcaster - Gay Byrne - had urged everyone to write to the politician responsible, Mr Spring, to complain, she said.
"This is the sort of incitement to hatred you hear of in Rwanda and other such areas," Ms Malone declared in frustration about media coverage of the EU summit and the Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC), at a session of the Joint Oireachtas Committees on European Affairs and Foreign Affairs.
The item which offended the MEP arose when a trader telephoned The Gay Byrne Show on Wednesday to complain about the effect of the traffic restrictions on his business.
Ms Malone was joined in her criticism by Mr Ben Briscoe of Fianna Fail who said that, although he was reluctant to insult people by talking about "low intellects", some people in the media "don't know what's going on" but wanted to "drag down Europe
Mr Noel Dorr, the Tanaiste's IGC representative, told the committee that the media tended to be more concerned with more immediate matters and did not reflect all the work of the IGC.
However, the Government was trying to get the message of the IGC across to everyone, as it would fundamentally affect the lives of all Irish citizens.
