A senior RTÉ editor says he accepts the "Frontline" Presidential debate last year changed the outcome of the election.
The show saw a so-called "rogue tweet" put to then frontrunner Sean Gallagher days before the country voted in Michael D. Higgins as president.
It follows the publication of an internal report on the programme overall which heavily criticised RTÉ for its handling of certain areas relating to the broadcast.
The debate format, audience selection and standard of staff training were some of the areas criticised.
However it found the mistakes made were not the result of bias.
"It changed the election outcome"
RTÉ says the report - authored by Rob Morrison, former Head of News & Current Affairs, UTV, and Steve Carson, Director of Programmes, RTÉ Television - did not consider the specific issue of the Tweet that was included in the programme.
It says this was the subject of a separate decision by the Compliance Committee of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) who upheld complaints connected to the Tweet.
Commenting on the report Managing Director of RTÉ News & Current Affairs Kevin Bakhurst said "RTÉ regrets the mistakes made in the preparation and in the broadcast of the programme. The production was less rigorous than it should have been".
"However the report has found ‘that the production team had worked conscientiously to deliver a robust but fair debate’, and that ‘the mistakes made in the programme were not the result of bias or partiality’. This echoes the BAI’s finding ‘that there was no evidence to question the bona fides of the programme presenter or the production".
He added "RTÉ now has in place best-practice rules, procedures and protocols to reduce the risk of any recurrence of the mistakes that were made. Recent debates on the Fiscal and Childrens’ referenda have seen these new rules in action. This is essential to ensure the newly invigorated current-affairs schedule on RTÉ Television is underpinned by the soundest of foundations".
David Nally is RTÉ News and Current Affairs editor.
"Yes I do accept that it changed the outcome of the Presidential debate, of the Presidential election" he said.
"People who watched the programme made their decision, and a certain chunk of the audience decided - I think - that making Sean Gallagher the President, straight into that office from nowhere it seems that a chunk of the electorate decided in the final few days that it was too big a leap - it was a leap in the dark" he added.
