The Broadcasting Complaints Commission has upheld part of a complaint by a man claiming RTE had not always provided fair and unbiased coverage of the divorce referendum in 1995.
Mr Donal O'Driscoll's complaint was about a Morning Ire- land programme. The commission found that the programme, which consisted of interviewer David Hanley chairing a debate between Prof William Binchy and Cabinet Minister Mr Mervyn Taylor, violated the fairness standard in broadcast legislation.
"The programme was not presented in an objective and impartial manner and without expression of the [RTE] authority's own views," the commission stated.
Mr O'Driscoll's other complaints were dismissed. He had asserted that RTE broadcast a Late Late Show special that was hostile to the Catholic church, that other programmes presented the message that it was acceptable for Catholics to vote for divorce, and that news presenters expressed pro-divorce views.
Mr O'Driscoll also objected to the airing of Tammy Wynette's song D-I-V-O-R-C-E. The commission said RTE listeners did not perceive the song as being "partisan or subliminal".