Ireland

RTÉ reports: PAC chair calls for ‘speedy implementation’ of recommendations on culture and governance

Public has grown weary of the scandals within national broadcaster, says PAC chairman Brian Stanley

RTÉ recommendations should be carried out quickly to avoid “kicking the can down the road," says PAC chair. Photograph: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos

Vivienne Clarke
Wed May 8 2024 - 14:22

The chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Brian Stanley has called for the “speedy implementation” of the recommendations of three reports into the culture, governance and human resources practices at RTÉ, which were published on Tuesday.

The recommendations should be carried out quickly to avoid “kicking the can down the road”, he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.

The public had grown weary of the scandals within the national broadcaster, of the scandals, the loss of records, the lack of governance, all of which had led to a breakdown of trust, said Mr Stanley.

The Public Accounts Committee, in a report issued a number of months ago, had made 21 recommendations and a lot of those recommendations and findings were included in the review, he added.

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“It’s now time for implementation and speedy implementation.”

When asked if the publication of the review would end any further investigation into RTÉ, Mr Stanley said that there had been a complete breakdown in trust and in the flow of information between the management of the station and the board that had been appointed to oversee it.

“I think there’s a big chunk of work here for Terence O’Rourke, the chairman of the board and the board of RTE, because that is the ultimate authority to oversee the running of the station and the management of it, to ensure that there’s good governance in place, to ensure accountability and transparency, and to ensure that practices and procedures are being followed.

[ Caps on future RTÉ severance packages and new pay bands for presenters recommended by HR review ]

“It’s clear that that hasn’t been the case over a number of years in RTE. And all we need to see those changes made very, very quickly. Because the public at this stage, would have grown weary of hearing the various issues, such as loss of records, the complete disregard of any kind of any procedures, the poor governance, the breakdown of trust.”

Mr Stanley said that the key people now were the director general of RTÉ Kevin Bakhurst and Mr O’Rourke, who needed to ensure that RTÉ was turned around and faced in a new direction.

The report also underlined the need for the Comptroller and Auditor General to have control, as many of the issues that had arisen in recent years in RTÉ could be directly attributable to a lack of audit and proper processes, he added. But any change would require legislation.

A new funding model for RTÉ also remained an issue, he said. The Government needed to make a decision on this.

Meanwhile, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin has said that she intends to “push forward” with the decision about how RTÉ will be funded. She reiterated that the decision will be made by the Government before the summer recess.

Ms Martin welcomed the reviews published on Tuesday and the recommendations, which, if implemented would improve the governance of the broadcaster and ensure that its culture in the future reflected the “real values” of public service broadcasting.

The scale of the financial, organisational and reputational issues facing RTÉ warranted an in-depth root and branch examination, and there was clearly a need for detailed recommendations to set out a path ahead, she told RTÉ Radio’s News At One.

“I’m glad, having met the chair and the DG yesterday, that they have agreed to accept the over 100 recommendations that refer to them, and this Government has agreed to accept the recommendations that relate to us.”

It is important that a sustainable funding model for public service media be put in place. Given the controversy over TV licence revenues, the Exchequer option was one that should be considered, said Ms Martin.

“There are various opinions at the Cabinet table, but we’re absolutely united on taking this decision, where consecutive governments have failed, before the summer.”

When asked about concerns expressed by Tánaiste Micheál Martin about Exchequer funding not being healthy for democracy, the Minister said the Exchequer already provides significant funding to public service media.

“Last year, more than half of spending on public service broadcasting was Exchequer €148 million, out of a total of €271. Indeed, TG4 are almost entirely Exchequer funded €56 million to €57 this year. So, I think Exchequer funding has been successfully introduced elsewhere, and I believe that it can work here.”

[ RTÉ funding by hybrid model may be ‘worst of both worlds’, Catherine Martin says ]

Vivienne Clarke

Vivienne Clarke is a reporter

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