Three things in life seem certain these days: death, taxes and RTÉ officials being grilled at Oireachtas committees.
The latest showdown for the broadcaster took place at the Oireachtas media committee on Wednesday and centred on how Ger Gilroy was chosen to host the state broadcaster’s new podcast, Howler Sport.
“If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck,” said committee chair, Labour TD Alan Kelly, as members tried to ascertain whether Gilroy – who helmed Off the Ball on Newstalk for 24 years, becoming its managing director in 2018 – was headhunted by RTÉ or if he applied via an expressions-of-interest process like other candidates.
In a recent interview with The Irish Times, Gilroy said he received a call from a former Newstalk colleague Hugh Ormond, now RTÉ’s head of podcasts, who pitched a daily sports podcast to him.
These remarks were at odds with comments made by Patricia Monahan, RTÉ’s head of audio, who last month told the Irish Independent that Gilroy applied via an expressions-of-interest process.
Monahan this week told the media committee she “never said that Ger applied through an expression-of-interest process”, rather he took part in “an expressions-of-interest process” after which he was deemed “the most appropriate candidate”.
Kelly wasn’t impressed with her explanation, saying: “It’s almost like you’re dancing around, not wanting to say we headhunted somebody.”
At least 20 people applied internally for the role and some RTÉ employees are understood to be deeply angry with how the situation was handled.
RTE’s deputy director general Adrian Lynch told the committee that “the RTÉ sports department were actually not happy with the appointment of Ger Gilroy because of comments he has made about RTÉ Sport in the past”.
This remark prompted Senator Evanne Ní Chuilinn, who previously worked in the RTÉ sports department, to interject: “You can give out about RTÉ and then get a six-figure salary 20 years later.”
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said it had serious concerns about “the nature of the appointment”. In a reply sent to NUJ head Séamus Dooley, RTÉ’s chief people officer Annette Malone rejected the assertion “backdoor recruitment” had taken place or that Monahan “misled staff or the public”.
Garrett Harte, a former editor-in-chief at Newstalk who worked alongside Monahan, said poor communication over how Gilroy was recruited has created an “unfortunate” distraction that might further erode public trust in RTÉ as it tries to rebuild its image and implement reforms.
Harte was also critical of the approach taken by some committee members – comparing the meeting to “a coliseum environment where it’s almost as if you have Oireachtas members competing to see who can land the best headline, the best soundbite”.
“We’re sort of straddling a political line where RTÉ clearly has got to be challenged on decisions because it’s public money ... but I think we might be turning that scrutiny into its own TV show.”
The committee also pressed RTÉ officials on whether Gilroy received a clothing allowance – he doesn’t, apparently, but Lynch said a tracksuit top may have been bought for Gilroy “for a photo shoot”.
This comes three years on from the fallout over the undisclosed payments to one-time top RTÉ top earner Ryan Tubridy when it emerged that the broadcaster spent €5,000 on flip flops for a summer party.
A spokeswoman for RTÉ said Gilroy “does not have a clothing allowance”, but “there is an allocation for wardrobe expenditure in the programme budget”.
Another bone of contention at the committee was the fact no female guests appeared on Howler Sport in its first two weeks on air.
Gilroy last month told The Irish Times his podcast would target a male audience, while a “female-targeted product” will be launched by national broadcaster next year.
A spokeswoman for RTÉ said Gilroy was referring to “plans for the broader podcast slate which will cater for a range of different target audiences”, rather than a specific programme.
“Howler and RTÉ’s other sports podcasts will cover both women’s and men’s sport,” a statement said. “Female representation is hugely important on the podcast ... This is currently being addressed.”
The Irish Times requested an interview with Monahan, former managing editor at Newstalk, but RTÉ said she was not available.
As well as the committee grilling, Howler Sport faced another possible setback this week. TalkSPORT, a broadcaster owned by News UK, launched a comedy sports podcast called Howler, which will be co-hosted by comedian Matt Lucas.
Given the size of News UK’s marketing budget, the similar names may confuse listeners and prove to be a further headache for the embattled state broadcaster.
RTÉ said it did not wish to comment.
It is understood News UK was unaware of the RTÉ podcast with the similar name until contacted by The Irish Times. A press release about its podcast was taken down as talkSPORT considered the implications of the name duplication.
A spokesperson for talkSPORT said: “We were not aware of RTÉ’s Howler podcast and are taking this into consideration.”
If RTÉ is indeed developing a “female-focused” sports product, it could learn a lesson from another UK broadcaster.
Sky Sports’s ill-fated female-targeted TikTok channel, Halo, was branded sexist and patronising when it launched last November.
It was scrapped after just three days.
