Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly was a guest on the contentious broadcast in question.
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has rejected multiple complaints directed towards a segment of The Pat Kenny Show that aired on Newstalk in October of 2021.
At its meeting held in March of 2022, the
Compliance Committee of the BAI considered and rejected 12 complaints – 11 relating to The Pat Kenny Show and one complaint against an interview that aired on The Claire Byrne Show on RTÉ Radio 1, also last October.
Connecting both instances, all complaints came against segments that discussed the impact of Covid-19 in Ireland, including debates on vaccination status.
The segment on The Pat Kenny Show, aired on 28 October, was entitled 'Covid Roundup' and was adjudged, in the view of the complainants, to display prejudice against people who were not vaccinated against the virus.
A summary of one such missive reads:
"The complainant states that a comment made by the presenter that people who are not vaccinated should stay at home because they place people who are vaccinated at risk is based on the presenter’s personal bias, is not grounded in objective scientific evidence and is divisive and discriminatory.
"The complainant believes the presenter’s comment that society was being 'too easy' on people who are choosing not to be vaccinated is inflammatory, discriminatory and potentially harmful.
"The complainant is of the opinion that the presenter’s comments in relation to employers needing to know whether employees are vaccinated demonstrate a lack of knowledge of discrimination in the workplace under employment equality legislation and a disregard for privacy law. The complainant believes the presenter’s comments about employees are based on bias rather than on any grounding in science."
In response, Newstalk underlined that the comments were made during a conversation with Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, which covered a range of issues relating to the pandemic. "The broadcaster was of the view the identified comments have been taken out of context," notes the BAI summary.
Newstalk also stated that Pat Kenny's job as host of a talk radio programme is to showcase "a wide variety of views" on a given subject, including those of the person being interviewed and those who aren't directly contributing to the discussion.
It was also argued that in referring to people who chose not to receive the Covid-19 vaccination, this offered a fair contrast with more vulnerable members of society before and after vaccines were made available to the public.
"The broadcaster does not believe the presenter discriminated against any person or group in society," notes the response's conclusion. "The broadcaster believes the broadcast was fair, objective and impartial and was not in breach of the Broadcasting Act 2009 or the relevant BAI Codes."
In reaching its ruling, the BAI Compliance Committee said that it found no evidence in the broadcast of content that "stigmatised, supported or condoned discrimination or incited hatred against any person or group in society".
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