Oireachtas media committee may hold special meeting to discuss RTÉ ‘deficiencies’ in September

The Oireachtas media committee will decide on Tuesday if it will return early in September for a special meeting examining “significant deficiencies” in RTÉ's internal management controls, finance and governance.

The all-party committee is holding a private meeting via remote video-link on Tuesday morning, ostensibly to discuss the findings of the recently published Grant Thornton report, which investigated the underreporting of broadcaster Ryan Tubridy’s income during periods between 2016 and 2022.

The report concluded there were signs of poor governance, including significant deficiencies in internal management controls, failures in finance and a lack of communication from the executive to the board.

Committee chair Niamh Smyth said on Monday night that members would also discuss some other serious issues that have arisen in recent weeks, including the dramatic fall in licence fee income. In total, TV licence revenue is down almost €5 million since the controversy over secret payments to Tubridy first arose in July.

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[ TV licence income falls almost €900,000 last week compared to 2022 ]

If the committee decides to hold a full public meeting, it is likely to be held on September 13th, a fortnight before the Dáil reconvenes at the end of that month. It is expected that director general Kevin Bakhurst and RTÉ chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh will be invited, along with members of the senior management team.

Ms Smyth, a Fianna Fáil TD for Cavan-Monaghan, said that a central concern was the working relationship between the RTÉ board and senior executives.

“It was obvious there was a disconnect between board and leadership but the Grant Thornton report has it there in black and white,” she said.

“There is a need for a cultural shift and a change of relationship between the board and the executive.

“We need to be assured the board is enabled to carry out their functions, which is to interrogate what RTÉ does.”

Ms Smith and another board member, Fine Gael TD Alan Dillon, also identified the broadcaster’s growing deficit as an issue of concern. He said, “From the funding point of view, we need to know how RTÉ proposes to restructure itself. These questions will need to be addressed. We would also seek a response from [Minister for Media] Catherine Martin about her engagement with the director general and what changes in governance have been proposed.”

[ Lack of transparency from RTÉ over pay controversy has hit licence fee payments, Minister says ]

[ Oliver Callan talks of ‘sense of wrong’ as Tubridy RTÉ show rebranded ]

Both Ms Smyth and Mr Dillon said it was unlikely that Tubridy or his agent, Noel Kelly, would be invited to attend. “Kevin Bakhurst has made his decision. We need to get on with it. I am glad that a decision has been made, irrespective of the merits of it,” said Ms Smyth.

The deficit faced by the broadcaster is set to dominate engagements with the Government in the weeks leading up to the budget. Neither the Government nor RTÉ have indicated its extent as yet. The formal request from RTÉ for additional funding has not yet been made to the Government.

Ms Martin and Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe are expected to discuss interim funding for RTÉ in September, as part of the estimates process.

On Monday night, a spokesman for RTÉ said the Future of Media Commission (FOMC) had already recommended that RTÉ receive interim funding.

“Given that the rate of inflation has increased considerably since the publication of the FOMC report, the request for interim funding was at a higher level than the commission had originally envisaged.

“RTÉ’s request for interim funding was submitted earlier this year, and both the chair and director general remain in ongoing dialogue around upcoming considerations.

“As stated by Kevin Bakhurst last week, we remain focused on delivering a range of important changes to the operation and culture of this organisation as part of the essential work to restore trust in RTÉ,” the spokesman said.