Former Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte has accused the State broadcaster RTÉ of giving uninformed coverage on the issue of Irish Water.
He also claims that it is giving stimulus to both Sinn Féin and the far left of the political spectrum.
"The manner in which the far left and Sinn Féin are exploiting the austerity fatigue of ordinary people on the water issue is disgraceful and contrary to the public interest", he said last night.
"The fact that for over a year now their humbug and hypocrisy is being stimulated by the public service broadcaster requires examination."
"Mischief making for the government of the day is a time honoured indulgence of the media and is part of a healthy democracy. However, under Section 114 of the 2009 Broadcasting Act the public service broadcaster has a duty to 'educate, entertain and inform'".
Mr Rabbitte adds that RTÉ’s coverage "may have entertained" but that "no sensible taxpayer or citizen could argue that it has informed or educated on the water issue."
'A natural bias with distorted information'
"RTÉ has acted as a recruiting sergeant for those who have taken control of and are manipulating the water protests. There must be people in RTÉ who know that Ireland alone in the EU doesn't have a water charge."
"It is clear that RTÉ relies heavily on a source inside the company who seeks to ground a natural bias with distorted information, half-truths and bits of e-mails and internal papers."
"Last Sunday's earth-shattering, highly promoted, press-stopping revelation was that there were unminuted meetings between the former Minister and the company Chairperson. If RTÉ were to broadcast similar exposés on every time a State company chairperson had an unminuted meeting with a Minister - myself included - over the last 30 years, it would fill out the schedule until the end of the year," he added.
"If I didn't know better, one might conclude that the lopsided coverage of the water issue derives from a decision of the RTÉ Board to strangle Irish Water at birth."
Mr Rabbitte concludes that the treatment of the Irish Water issue has "fallen short of what licence paying citizens should reasonably expect."
