Fermanagh viewers are to be frustrated when it comes to viewing the exploits of Team Ireland at the Paris Olympics as RTÉ has confirmed it is will not air live news bulletins that contain Olympic coverage.

The broadcaster said this is due to licensing rights and will instead make edited news bulletins on RTÉ Player available for residents in Northern Ireland and internationally.

With four athletes from the Fermanagh and Cavan area competing in France for Team Ireland, RTÉ would likely have been a source of information for residents.

But any live news coverage on the exploits of Ross Corrigan, Nathan Timoney, Leona Maguire or Claire Boles will not be shown on RTÉ in Northern Ireland.

In a statement, the broadcaster explained that it only had rights to broadcast the Games in the Republic of Ireland only and exclusive rights for free-to-air broadcasts in Northern Ireland were held by the BBC.

RTÉ said the BBC were licensed the rights in 2016  as part of a UK Olympics rights deal between the BBC and "pan-European rights holder, Discovery back in 2016".

The RTÉ statement said: "Broadcast rights include use of any footage as part of news coverage and so RTÉ is, unfortunately, unable to broadcast or stream live any bulletins in Northern Ireland which contain Olympic footage."

Sinn Féin MP Dáire Hughes has described geo-blocking by RTÉ locking out northern viewers as unacceptable.

The Newry and Armagh MP said: “It is completely unacceptable that northern viewers have once again been subject to ‘geo-blocking’, preventing them from viewing certain programmes on RTÉ. Citizens from every part of the island deserve full access to southern broadcasters.

“Geo-blocking of northern viewers has become increasingly prevalent over recent years but blocking RTÉ News output from Northern citizens takes this malevolent practice up another notch.

 “RTÉ News is viewed by a huge number of people in the north. Political, economic and social developments on this island affect all of us and it is essential that access to news is universal.

“With only three days left until the biggest game in the Gaelic football calendar, the people of Armagh, and indeed across the six counties, will now miss out on important news coverage, reports and match build-up.

“Also, news and reaction to Ireland’s Olympic team, which boasts many northerners, will be blocked too and lock out many citizens from the north from keeping up to date with their progress.

“RTÉ is treating northern citizens with contempt. 

“I am calling on the broadcaster to immediately reverse this decision. This is a publicly funded body and I will be writing to the Minster for Media and to the RTÉ Director General to bring this contemptible practice to an end.”