Radio: McDowell digs deeper

McDowell had nothing to say about the implications of the judgement, whether he thought it was right, whether he had anticipated it, whether the courts had been wrong in the earlier case which had found a 1935 act, or part of that act, unconstitutional. Nothing about the dangers facing children from sex abusers and what might be done to protect them. Just about himself and how right he had been all along.

Precisely the trait in him that the public has found so unappealing over the last while. He has a chance to soften that image, instead he hardens it. He digs deeper. He should take lessons from Daniel O'Donnell, who was on Miriam O'Callaghan's TV programme the previous Saturday night. Daniel was uncomfortable with Germaine Greer leering behind him, but he handled it well, did nothing to alienate viewers, put her in her place (somewhat) and sang beautifully in the end.

Michael O'Leary of Ryanair was on Morning Ireland immediately after McDowell. McDowell could learn from O'Leary too. O'Leary had a light, funny touch, ably dismissed the report in that morning's Irish Independent about overcharging and ended a hands-down winner. Whether what he was saying was entirely accurate is another matter. You don't have to be right, you just have to be normal, human, relaxed.

I don't know whether Newstalk has tried to induce Áine Lawlor to join them but if they did Áine's salary has probably shot up, for RTÉ seems to be using its license fee muscle to terrorise Newstalk before it goes on air as a national station. The rumours were that Philip Boucher Hayes was being courted by Newstalk but then, suddenly, he was made head of an investigative team in RTÉ radio. Almost certainly he got more money as well.

RTÉ has a dominant position in broadcasting here because it was a monopoly provider for decades and achieved a dominant position which has not been disrupted. It also enjoys a huge subsidy from the TV license and although radio is not supposed to benefit from this (I think) I would be surprised if it doesn't. Newstalk is as capable of providing public service broadcasting as is RTÉ, so why should it not get a bit of the license fee as well?

My aunt's old flame, Tom McGurk, got into a lather about crime on his programme on Monday morning (10 July). Obviously he hasn't bothered acquainting himself with the facts on crime, which show the crime rate has been around the same level for 20 years now, that serious crime is no worse than it has been, that break-ins to the homes of old people living alone in rural areas has come down a lot. Also he seemed not to know that the law gives adequate protection to people whose homes are broken into. The homeowner is not helpless, does not have to retreat, does not have to pay compensation if the robber trips on the stairs. But there he was, as Pat Kenny often does and as Gay Byrne used to do, whipping up alarm over crime, provoking the likes of Michael McDowell into making this society an even nastier place than it already is.