AN MLA IS urging RTÉ to open access to competitions to include audiences in Northern Ireland.

As Patrick Kielty, born in Co Down, prepares to host his first Late Late Show tomorrow night, SDLP MLA for Newry and Armagh Justin McNulty is calling on the broadcaster to allow Northern Ireland viewers to enter competitions.

The MLA has contacted Director General Kevin Backhurst to ask him to take action on the matter. 

“There is great excitement and anticipation across the North as one of our own, Patrick Kielty, is set to take the helm of one of Irish television’s most iconic institutions, the Late Late Show,” McNulty said in a statement this afternoon.

However, he was “dismayed to learn that even though a presenter from the North will now be presenting the programme, RTÉ intend to keep in place their ban preventing viewers here from entering competitions run by the broadcaster”.

“I have engaged in exhaustive discussions with RTÉ on this issue in recent years, informing them that the law had been changed here to address their concerns. Last year the then-Director General informed me the broadcaster would be reviewing their legal advice following these changes, but still we are no further on,” he said.

“It’s farcical that we are now facing a situation where a Northerner will now be fronting the programme, while his family and friends sit at home watching, unable to enter the very competitions he is promoting on his debut show.

This is not solely a Late Late Show issue. Viewers here are prevented from entering competitions on programmes like The Sunday Game, even when Northern teams are competing!

“I have once again reached out to RTÉ through new Director-General Kevin Bankhurst asking him to revisit this issue and lift this ban once and for all. The broadcaster has an obligation to its many viewers in the North and it’s long past time they took their views and concerns on board.”

Patrick Kielty was named as the fourth host of the Late Late Show after Ryan Tubridy announced his resignation earlier this year.

Kielty has signed a deal for three seasons of 30 shows each and an annual salary of €250,000.