Media regulator warns radio station over Independent Ireland election candidate presenting show

Niall Boylan is standing for the Independent Ireland party.

THE MEDIA REGULATOR has warned Classic Hits FM against allowing talk show host Niall Boylan to present his phone-in show during the European election campaign, after he declared as a  candidate for the new Independent Ireland party.

Coimisiún na Meán (CnaM) said this afternoon that it had “contacted Classic Hits FM to re-iterate our view regarding persons involved with election interests presenting programmes during the election campaign period”.

It said it was “not appropriate” for candidates to present programmes during an election campaign.

It did not respond directly to a question on what qualifies as an “election campaign period”. The European election will be held on 7 June.

Classic Hits will make a “company announcement” in Boylan’s on-air slot this evening, CEO Kevin Brannigan said earlier. The station is broadcast in Dublin and the surrounding counties, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Clare.

Boylan also said this morning in a live podcast that he would make a statement on his candidacy on air later. He is standing for the Independent Ireland party, led by Cork South-West TD Michael Collins, in the Dublin constituency.

People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said this afternoon that he would be concerned were Boylan to continue on air, given the need for radio to be independent and impartial.

He added that Boylan has been “inflaming some of the fairly toxic ideas being pushed by some far right activists in this country”.

As well as his media position, Boylan has a high profile on social media, where he frequently rails against “reckless immigration policy”. He has used his podcast and social media to campaign against the EU migration pact in recent weeks, criticising “woke MEPs” for voting in favour of it. He is supportive of Irish anti-trans campaigners.

Alluding to his candidacy on his podcast this morning, Boylan said “I will tell you the full story tonight at nine o’clock on Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio”.

“I’ll be on and I shall explain everything and go into it in great detail just to satisfy one or two journos out there, shut them up.”

He said he didn’t like the photos of him used in the media yesterday. He said he received a positive reaction to news of his candidacy on social media.

CnaM said: “At all times, broadcasters, including presenters that they employ or recruit in a voluntary capacity are required to ensure that coverage of news and current affairs elections is fair, objective and impartial.”

Regulatory guidelines for election coverage – including European elections – state that it is “not appropriate for persons involved with election interests to present programmes during the election campaign period”.

However, these “conflict of interest” provisions set out in Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) guidelines dating from 2018 also state that broadcasters can make decisions on a “case by case basis”. The BAI has been subsumed into the new CnaM.

New party

Boylan is the second candidate recruited to Independent Ireland, after former RTÉ news correspondent Ciaran Mullooly announced he will stand in the Midland North-West constituency.

The party’s leader Michael Collins hit the headlines earlier this month when he voiced support for the chemical castration of rapists and paedophiles and defended the use of guns for self-defence in an interview with Hot Press magazine.

The website of Independent Ireland states that the party will not operate a strict party whip system, leaving candidates free to speak and vote in accordance with their own views.

Standing as part of a party rather than as Independents means the collective could benefit from state funding in proportion to their first preference votes in the next general election. In the event of winning general election seats, the group could also potentialy get more Dáil speaking time as a party.