European election candidate Ben Gilroy has lost a High Court challenge to a decision by RTÉ to exclude him from a live televised debate
Mr Gilroy, who is an independent candidate in Dublin, had asked the court for a number of declarations including that RTÉ did not have the authority to deprive him of his right to debate as a panelist and that the broadcaster's actions will prejudice his election campaign.
The judge refused to hear an application by Mr Gilroy for an urgent injunction saying: "You've had your day". He said the criteria violated the Broadcasting Authority guidelines and was "an attack on democracy". He said he had to do what was best for him in this election and if it was reported that he had taken the challenge and the court had found the process unfair then maybe people would consider voting for him.Asked by the judge if he was suggesting that all 19 candidates had a legal right to take part in the 52 minute programme he said he was not but he was taking issue with the way RTÉ had gone about it.He also said "its 19 people and it could have been done over two nights.
He also said TV live debates could not be viewed in isolation from RTÉ's overall electoral coverage over the course of the campaign.Counsel for RTÉ, Niamh Hyland, said Mr Gilroy was looking for something from the court which was "not known to law".
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