SINN FÉIN WILL today introduce a bill to stop RTÉ geo-blocking content in Northern Ireland and to make sure viewers in the North can enter competitions run by the national broadcaster. 

The proposed law would also ensure that the six counties in Northern Ireland are included in maps used in RTÉ broadcasts.

The Broadcasting (All Ireland Service) (Amendment) Bill 2025 will be introduced in the Dáil this afternoon without a debate. 

Speaking ahead of its introduction, Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh said he submitted the bill in July 2024 at a time when RTÉ had taken a decision to exclude audiences in Northern Ireland from access to live news bulletins just as athletes from across the island were taking part in the Paris Olympics.

The decision from RTÉ also coincided with Armagh’s win in the All-Ireland men’s senior football final.

“While it was welcome that RTÉ rowed back on that decision following a protest from my colleague Dáire Hughe, Sinn Féin MP for Newry and Armagh, this was just one in a long line of examples of RTÉ not providing equal service to audiences in the North,” he said.

Ó Snodaigh noted that RTÉ also held an audience competition to win tickets to watch that final, but Armagh viewers could not enter.

“Repeated instances of the Six Counties being erased by RTÉ from the map of Ireland add insult to injury,” he added.

“This bill aims to ensure the Six Counties are never again erased by RTÉ, whether in graphic form, by exclusion from audience competitions or by being geo-blocked from content.”

In a statement to The Journal, an RTÉ spokesperson said a Memorandum of Understanding agreed between the British and Irish governments following the Good Friday Agreement allowed for TG4 and RTÉ to be aired in the North and for the BBC to be aired in the Republic of Ireland.

The spokesperson said that the “majority of RTÉ’s schedules should be available in Northern Ireland”.

However, the spokesperson acknowledged that in “certain cases, due to rights restrictions, certain programmes and live sports events cannot be broadcast by RTÉ in Northern Ireland”.

The spokesperson said “such restrictions are prescribed by the rights holders, not RTÉ, and are outside RTÉ’s control”.

Examples of programmes which are currently geo-blocked for rights reasons include the Australian soap Home and Away, as Channel 5 has the exclusive rights to broadcast it in the North and RTÉ’s rights relate to the Republic of Ireland only. 

Live sport, particularly international tournaments, are also impacted, such as the Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euros, Women’s Euros, and Champions League.

“In such cases, the rights holders recognise and prescribe UK rights to include Northern Ireland and sell the rights in the UK (including Northern Ireland) to UK broadcasters on an exclusive basis,” said the RTÉ spokesperson.

Meanwhile, in cases involving drama and comedy where RTÉ co-produces programmes with a UK producer, the latter maintains rights to the UK premiere, which includes Northern Ireland.

In such cases, RTÉ’s premiere rights will relate to the Republic of Ireland only and examples include The Young Offenders, Normal People and Conversations with Friends.

RTÉ said these restrictions relate to “premium rate competitions only” and arise because of differences in regulations in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The spokesperson added that the RTÉ Player is accessible to audiences in the North and that RTÉ “endeavours to make as much content available as right allow”.