“In time, we hope that we will once again get the opportunity to continue to develop our partnership with Dublin Pride.”
RTÉ has said that it is “disappointed’ by Dublin Pride’s decision to end their media partnership.
Yesterday, Dublin Pride announced that they had severed ties with RTÉ following recent episodes of Liveline in which gender identity was discussed.
The group said that these conversations were “unacceptable, triggering and extremely harmful” to the trans community.
Their statement read: “As an official media partner of Dublin Pride, but more importantly as Ireland’s national broadcaster, we expect better than for RTÉ to stoke the flames of anti-trans rhetoric.
“We are proud members of Trans Equality Together, a new coalition led by TENI, LGBT Ireland and BeLonG To, and we are committed to accepting their lead in this issue. At their request we have not made a statement until now, but have remained in close and constant contact with them throughout the last few days to ensure that any actions taken by Dublin Pride respect the voices and feelings of the trans people in our community.
“RTÉ is our national broadcaster. LGBTQ+ people and our allies make up the majority of people in Ireland. We are the majority shareholders in RTE and we have a right to hold it accountable for its actions.”
This morning, RTÉ issued a statement of their own which said: “Public discussion – sometimes uncomfortable, difficult, and contentious – is central to RTÉ’s prescribed purpose.
“RTÉ is acutely aware that discussions on issues such as gender and identity are deeply personal to many. It is important we listen to them, their families and those close to them, and it is also important that we allow our audiences engage with and understand the issues involved.”
They went on to say that they will include the LGBT+ community through “a range of specially produced content, campaigns and partnerships”.
RTÉ added that they will “stand with” their LGBT+ staff and the community throughout Pride and beyond.
They said: “In time, we hope that we will once again get the opportunity to continue to develop our partnership with Dublin Pride.”
Feature images: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie
