RTE has defended its decision to broadcast a live show outside a Dublin hospital this evening despite ongoing backlash.
The national broadcaster will tonight broadcast Claire Byrne Live outside the Mater Hospital as fears grow about the mounting pressure on the Irish health system amid the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the state broadcaster was met with criticism online and from politicians with some labelling the show as inappropriate given the level of infection in the country and current restrictions in place.
But RTE has insisted that the show was "arranged with the full cooperation of the Mater Hospital" and that strict public health measures will be adhered to.
A spokesperson for RTE told the Irish Mirror: "The aim of programme is to highlight the pressure hospitals are under right now, with first-hand accounts from frontline workers putting a renewed focus on the importance of following public health guidelines.
"It will give viewers an insight into the challenges hospital staff are facing in this current wave of the pandemic.
"The live broadcast will take place in an outdoor environment with strict Covid safety protocols observed by all on site."
A post written on the Claire Byrne Live Twitter account was met with fiery backlash from social media users over the weekend who felt the move was unnecessary.
It read: "We'll be broadcasting live from outside Dublin's Mater Hospital tomorrow.
"As the crisis worsens, Claire will hear from doctors, nurses, porters and other heroes on the Covid frontline."
Fine Gael senator John MacGahon described the move as "ghoulish" adding a "rethink is most certainly needed" while Labour TD Ged Nash said: "This is all kinds of wrong."
One angered social media user wrote: "I don't think this is a good idea. It's like sending Caitriona Perry to the Derry Guild Hall at the height of the last lockdown. Totally unnecessary. Lead by example. Stay at home. Stop transmission by stopping contact."
Another wrote: "Why are you camping outside a hospital in the midst of a pandemic? Makes no sense."
Writer and activist Joanne O'Riordan added: "This is... not good! Risking a lot of lives and a lot of contacts to prove a point that’s common knowledge."
