“I expect that the Board of RTÉ will address these governance failings with thoroughness and urgency.”
The government has announced that an external independent review into the governance and culture at RTÉ will be undertaken following the revelations surrounding undisclosed payments to presenter Ryan Tubridy this week.
Announcing the review, Media Minister Catherine Martin said that the State broadcaster is facing an “existential crisis”, and that a decision on the restructuring of the TV license system has now been postponed until the reviews’ completion.
Independent review of RTÉ announced.
“This means ensuring complete transparency and clarity not only in terms of what has happened but also on how matters are dealt with in future,” Ms Martin said.
“I expect that the Board of RTÉ will address these governance failings with thoroughness and urgency.”
A separate review of the salaries of the broadcaster’s top earners should also be completed within the coming weeks, the Minister announced.
“I believe in the value of public service broadcasting, (but) to build back trust in RTÉ, we need to have that root and branch review,” the Green Party representative said.
On Saturday afternoon, RTÉ apologised to staff members in an email, saying it had engaged in what was a “serious breach of trust”, in reference to hidden payments made to former Late Late Show presenter Mr Tubridy which totalled €345,000 over six years.
Dee Forbes, the Director General of the organisation, was also suspended following this week’s financial revelations.
Mr Tubridy is set to be absent from the airwaves next week.
This week’s revelations at RTÉ signal potential deeper challenges in the organisation
I have decided to commission an external independent review into the governance & culture at RTÉ
Full statement following my meeting with RTÉ Chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh:https://t.co/5uRTxRjRxy
— Catherine Martin TD (@cathmartingreen) June 24, 2023
‘Tip of the iceberg.’
To add to the turmoil engulfing the State broadcaster, the Sunday Independent report that a whistleblower has come forward claiming that the same account used to make undisclosed payments to Mr Tubridy was also used to make secret payments to ad agencies.
The Sunday Independent report that the whistleblower claims that the account was used by RTÉ to make undisclosed payments to ad agencies totalling €50m.
In the report, the whistleblower says that the furore around the payments were just ‘the top of the iceberg’.
Echoing the sentiments of anger expressed by many this week, former Newstalk presenter and government minister Ivan Yates said:
“The problem is with governance. This is all systematic of a culture of denial, arrogance and cover-up.”
The news of RTÉ’s financial transgressions comes after the broadcaster’s repeated assurances to politicians and the public that its’ top earners had seen their salaries cut by 15 per cent over a period of several years.
The review of the broadcaster’s commercial dealings is expected to take anywhere up to seven months to complete.
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