RTE’s investigative journalism programme, Prime Time, has had a complaint against it upheld by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission.

A complaint against the broadcaster’s soap opera, Fair City, was also upheld. Both are in relation to mental health issues.

Meanwhile, a further seven complains against various programmes, shows, and advertisements were rejected.

Two panel members used the term after a segment covering cannabis and
mental health. It was said on the programme that a report in the Lancet
medical journal suggested long-term use of cannabis could turn people
into “basket cases”.

“The panel members could have used alternative terms/words. It was also
noted that the presenter did not intervene. The use of the term ‘basket
case’ was casual and, in the context of a debate on drugs and mental
illness on Prime Time, inappropriate. There was no editorial
justification for its use. It is a colloquial term of abuse,” said the latest BCC reports.

“Given the subject matter under discussion, the context in which the
term basket case was used could be considered to stigmatise people with
mental illness and therefore was likely to cause offence. This part of
the complaint was upheld”. 

The complaint was made by ‘Headline’, a media-monitoring organisation covering mental health and suicide related issues.

The Headline group had also
complained that it was suggested that people with mental health
problems would not watch Prime Time. On this, the BCC rejected the
complaint, saying: “The comment [in the programme] was based on youth,
rather than mental disability. On hearing the piece, it was clear that
he thought young people would not view Prime Time. This part of the
complaint was rejected”.

“Coming at you like an epileptic”

The Fair City complaint was in relation to an episode contained a
conversation describing a character with a tea tray looking as if they
were “coming at you like an epileptic”.

The commission said: “There was no editorial justification for the use
of the term ‘coming at you like an epileptic’, a colloquial term of
abuse, on this occasion. Also, given the context in which the term was
used, it could be considered to stigmatise people with mental illness
and therefore was likely to cause offence. The complaint was upheld”.