RTE has apologised and paid "substantial damages" to former a Irish presidential candidate over a tweet which is said to have changed the outcome of the 2011 election.
The broadcaster's Frontline debate just days before the October 2011 presidential election dealt a hammer blow to businessman Sean Gallager's chances of victory after it broadcast a tweet from someone falsely claiming to represent rival candidate Martin McGuinness.
The tweet, which was not sent by the late Mr McGuinness's campaign team, claimed a man allegedly gave Mr Gallagher a cheque for a Fianna Fáil fundraiser.
The next day Sinn Féin identified Hugh Morgan of Newry-based Morgan Fuels as the businessman who was claiming that Mr Gallagher had solicited a donation of €5,000 for Fianna Fáil in 2008.
The claim heaped pressure on independent candidate Mr Gallagher to explain his past links to Fianna Fáil.
The entrepreneur and former Dragon's Den star was polling at 40 per cent, far ahead of his closest rival, in the run-up to the televised debate.
However, Michael D Higgins won a landslide victory on polling day with a 56.8 per cent share of the vote – comfortably ahead of runner up Mr Gallagher and former Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, who finished in third place.
A statement read out in Dublin's High Court yesterday said: "RTE apologises to Mr Gallagher for its failure to comply with section 39 of the Broadcasting Act and for the failings identified in the BAI (Broadcasting Authority of Ireland) and internal RTE editorial review.
"RTE acknowledges that the production of the programme fell significantly short of the standards expected by the public and required by law."
The broadcaster admitted it made mistakes.
"RTE acknowledges that it should have verified the origin of a tweet to which reference was made during that broadcast and that the tweet should not have been erroneously attributed to another candidate's Twitter account.
"RTE acknowledges that it should not have broadcast the tweet and, when it became apparent during the course of the programme that it was false, it should have immediately corrected the fact that the provenance of the tweet was mistaken.
"As a result, RTE failed in its obligations to Mr Gallagher."
The broadcaster has previously accepted there was a series of failings in the production and broadcast of the Frontline presidential debate. The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland in March 2012 upheld a complaint by Mr Gallagher about the Frontline debate and the following day's Pat Kenny radio show.
An editorial review into the programme which followed the BAI report - co-authored by former UTV head of news Rob Morrison and RTE head of programmes, Belfast born Steve Carson - found that
while mistakes were made in the preparation and broadcast of the programme, it was not the result of bias or partiality.
In court on Tuesday the broadcaster acknowledged it failed in its obligation of fairness to Mr Gallagher under the Broadcasting Act and in particular in the broadcast of the tweet without verification; failed to provide clarification on the provenance of the tweet within the same programme; and failed to provide clarification of the provenance of the tweet on the Radio One broadcast of Today with Pat Kenny on October 25 2011.
In a statement read out by his lawyer Paul Tweed, Mr Gallagher said: "Sean Gallagher is satisfied that RTE have, before the High Court today, acknowledged their failure to treat Mr Gallagher with due fairness and impartiality in the preparation and broadcast of the presidential debate in 2011, which has been supported by the payment of substantial damages."
He hoped the apology would lead to significant improvement in procedure and protocol for the next presidential debate next year.
"Sean Gallagher's motivation in taking this case has not just been about addressing the unfairness shown to him but also about protecting the integrity of the democratic process and ensuring that what happened to him will not be allowed to happen again."
