Revenue may investigate RTÉ exit payments amid staff ‘outrage’ at severance deals

An independent report into exit packages paid to RTÉ staff under a voluntary redundancy scheme has said the Revenue Commissioners may wish to investigate whether tax was paid correctly in several cases.

The report, carried out by legal firm McCann Fitzgerald, found a significant exit package paid to RTÉ's former chief financial officer Breda O’Keeffe had not been approved correctly. Instead of being signed off by RTÉ's senior management team, known as the executive board, as required, the exit package was approved by then-director general Dee Forbes.

The report said envisaged cost savings of €200,000 a year in a business case drawn up by Ms O’Keeffe when applying for the scheme, based on an internal “successor” stepping into the role, did not materialise. In response to questions during the review, Ms O’Keeffe said the responsibility for making sure RTÉ made cost savings through the exit scheme lay “entirely” with Ms Forbes.

The report concluded the terms of the scheme had not been followed in Ms O’Keeffe’s case, but that this was the fault of RTÉ and Ms Forbes, who did not engage with the review due to “medical reasons”.

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The independent report found 10 cases where redundancy payments were made to staff by RTÉ under the 2017 scheme, which did not meet the “requirements” to be classed as redundancies.

“The Revenue Commissioners may take the view that RTÉ should not have applied the tax exemption applicable to statutory redundancy payments to the payments received by some or all of these individuals,” the report said. “This will however be a matter for the Revenue Commissioners to determine,” it said.

The finding related to income tax that potentially should have been paid on €223,000 made in exit payments to 10 individuals. When asked if Revenue was examining the matter, a spokeswoman said the authority was precluded from commenting on the tax affairs of individuals or organisations.

Kevin Bakhurst, who took over as director general of RTÉ last July, said he was “shocked” by the “serious breach of procedure” around the former chief financial officer’s exit package. Minister for Media Catherine Martin said the report demonstrated “an appalling disregard for the principles of equity, fairness and transparency in the treatment of staff”.

The reaction inside the broadcaster to the latest report was one of “outrage”, the RTÉ trade union group said. “Staff are exhausted with the relentless revelations due to shoddy governance while dealing at the same time with the challenges they now face as a consequence,” the union group said.

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