THE Late Late Toy Show has been accused of "partitionism" because its road show talent search will not travel north of the border.
For the first time RTÉ's flagship festive show is going on the road to find the best young singers, musicians and performers to take part.
Auditions will be held next month in Cork, Athlone, Sligo and Dublin, but the broadcaster has confirmed none will take place in Northern Ireland.
Sinn Féin's Barry McElduff said RTÉ should represent the entire nation.
The West Tyrone MLA said: "RTÉ needs regular reminders that Ireland doesn't stop in Dundalk or Lifford. It is further evidence of a partitionist mindset in RTÉ.
And he added in response to an Irish News query: "The national broadcaster should strive to represent the nation and not just the 26 counties."
An RTÉ spokesman said audition locations were chosen to "cover as much of Ireland as possible".
"This is the first time The Late Late Show has held auditions outside of Dublin to find performers to appear on the Toy Show. We picked four regional centres Cork, Sligo, Athlone and Dublin to cover as much of Ireland as possible given the time limitations involved," he said.
"The Late Late Toy Show features young performers from all 32 counties. Last year 269 performers and toy testers took part with one of the stand-out participants being Jesse Jane, the karate kid from Co Armagh."
Youngsters have until October 5 to submit their applications and successful applicants will then be invited to audition.
"This process is open to young performers from all over Ireland including Northern Ireland," the spokesman said.
For more than a decade The Late Late Toy Show has been Ireland's most watched TV programme with around 1.4 million viewers tuning in last year.
