TG4 documentary on Creeslough explosion breached Broadcasting Act, media regulator finds

A complaint about a TG4 documentary on the Creeslough explosion has been partially upheld by Ireland’s media regulator.

Coimisiún na Meán looked into the Iniúchadh TG4 - An Craoslach programme, screen on February 8, 2023, and found that it breached sections of the Broadcasting Act 2009.

Coimisiún na Meán, which was established to succeed the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland to probe complaints about TV and radio programmes, found that the TG4 documentary about the October 2022 explosion was also in breach of programme standards.

The complaint was submitted by Killian Flanagan, on behalf of his sister Aine, whose partner Robert Garwe (50) and their daughter Shauna Flanagan-Garwe (5) were killed in the horrific explosion. Ten people died in the blast which tore through the Applegreen complex in the town on October 7, 2022.

The regulator outlined in a detailed decision that the distress caused by the broadcast ‘could have been avoided if the broadcaster had given special consideration to the bereaved families and consulted with them prior to broadcast’.

“The Commission believes the actions taken by the broadcaster did not sufficiently demonstrate it took due care when broadcasting programme material which could cause distress, particularly in the context of the scheduling of the broadcast, approximately four months after the incident and before the Garda investigation has completed,” Coimisiún na Meán said in its decision.

Flanagan told the regulator in a complaint that certain aspects of the programme were distressing ‘particularly because the family does not have detailed information of events until after the Garda investigation is concluded’.

He pointed out that one interviewee, who had been at the scene of the explosion, said that he heard a little girl talking but he was unable to get to her. This, Flanagan said, caused serious distress to his sister as people believed that the girl referenced may have been Shauna and that she may have been alive with first responders unable to reach her.

Flanagan told the commission that his sister was contacted by friends and relatives after the broadcast who also thought the girl referenced in the broadcast may have been her daughter.

Coimisiún na Meán agreed that the programme did not name the girl referenced or explain that she survived.

“The Commission was of the opinion that omitting this information from the broadcast gave rise to a bereaved family believing the reference to a little girl was a reference to their family member who had died in the incident, which caused significant distress to the family, particularly the victim’s mother,” Coimisiún na Meán’s decision read.

A description by an interviewee that the building collapsed ‘like a pancake’ also caused further distress, noting that TG4 had said in advance that it would not report anything about the victims other than what has already been reported publicly.

Flanagan said that the programme was made without consultation with the bereaved families and that a request for information from the families was ‘ignored by the broadcaster’.

In a response to the complaint, TG4 said that the decision to broadcast the programme ‘was not taken lightly and the programme’.

The broadcaster said that the documentary was aimed at ‘giving a voice’ to the people involved in the aftermath of the blast - particularly those involved in the rescue of people trapped in the debris.

TG4 claimed that there were what it described as ‘ill-informed and unhelpful commentary from certain media outlets’ in advance of the broadcast. TG4 said these outlets ‘had not sought to review the programme in advance’ and said this led to a lot of social media activity on the topic.

The broadcaster said that it sought clarification regarding the little girl referenced in the programme the day after its transmission. It confirmed that the girl referenced was someone else who was rescued. This information was relayed to Flanagan, TG4 said.

TG4 argued that people viewing the full broadcast ‘would conclude that a sensitive and responsible approach to the subject matter was taken throughout’.

It says that the information contained regarding the cause of the explosion was based on a Garda press release and no examination of or commentary on its cause was included in the programme.

The broadcaster said it was satisfied that the programme was in the public interest ‘as it was important for the public to understand the wider impact of the tragedy on those in the local community who were directly involved’.

Coimisiún na Meán pointed out that a similar story about a boy who was caught up in the explosion included a voiceover clarifying that he was rescued.

Coimisiún na Meán acknowledged the legitimacy of the programme, but said only for the fact that the girl referenced in the broadcast was not Shauna Flanagan-Garwe it ‘may have decided the broadcast had unreasonably encroached on a person’s privacy’.

“It is unclear why this approach was not taken in relation to the story of the little girl,” the regulator said. “The Commission noted the broadcaster offered no evidence of having engaged with or consulted bereaved families in the making of the programme, which could have mitigated against the possibility of the broadcast causing distress to a bereaved family.”

Complaints that the documentary breached a code in relation to respect for privacy and protection of the public interest were not upheld.