'This is crazy': Louis Walsh

"This is crazy," he told Hot Press. "No wonder the music biz in Ireland is the way it is. No wonder Irish record companies are signing nobody."

Never one to mince his words, the Westlife manager and X Factor judge offered a damning assessment of the status quo.

"It's because we can't get airplay in our own fucking country for our own home grown talent," he states. "It's frustrating and unfair that we are being treated like this. Kylie Minogue is Australian – it's as simple as that. No wonder The Thrills, Ash, Declan O'Rourke, Bell X1 etc. are struggling – because they don't get enough airplay in their own country and their record deals are in the balance because of this.

"The big Irish radio stations all copy US radio. They're playing Timbaland, Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna and similar acts 24/7. Would Snow Patrol have gotten airplay in Ireland for 'Chasing Cars'? No, it happened on a US TV show. What would U2 do, if they were starting again in Ireland? They'd struggle because of radio formats copying the US and the UK. And who suffers? The talent – and ultimately the public."

The absence of radio play directly affects sales, Walsh argues.

"Look at the Irish charts," he says. "They now look like the USA or UK charts. We need to sort this out."