FR KEVIN REYNOLDS has said he accepts Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte’s decision not to seek resignations from the RTÉ board over the Prime Time Investigates programme that libelled him.
Fr Reynolds, speaking last night from his home in Ahascragh, Co Galway, expressed agreement with the response of his solicitor, Robert Dore, to the outcome of Mr Rabbitte’s two-hour meeting with the board yesterday.
Earlier, Mr Dore said he respected Mr Rabbitte’s judgment and in particular his decision not to seek changes on the board. “Pat Rabbitte is no eejit. If, in the light of reflection and the examination of the reports on the programme, he formed the view that there should be no changes, so be it.”
Mr Rabbitte said after the meeting that he didn’t expect any changes on the board as a result of the controversy. No resignations had been sought or offered, he said.
At the meeting, the Minister instructed RTÉ to produce a report within a week setting out the reforms it plans to introduce following the publication last week of a report that was heavily critical of the Mission to Prey programme broadcast last year. The broadcaster will also have to deliver quarterly progress reports on its implementation of the reforms recommended in the report commission by the Broadcasting Authority.
However, speaking to journalists after the meeting, Mr Rabbitte declined to say outright whether he had full confidence in the board.
Later a Government spokesman also declined to say whether Ministers had full confidence. “The Minister has said what he’s going to say about it, and I’m not going to qualify that in any way,” he said.
Last night Mr Rabbitte moved to clarify his stance, saying he had made clear that he was satisfied that the board appreciated the gravity of the authority’s report and was determined to implement its recommendations in full in order to regain public confidence. “The board has my full support in this endeavour.”
The Minister also signalled he may change the law to allow members of the public who are unhappy about their treatment in radio and television programmes more time to complain. Under current rules, a 30-day limit applies but Mr Rabbitte said he was concerned whether this was adequate.
The chairman of the RTÉ Authority, Tom Savage, announced a further internal review by the editorial and creative output committee of decision-making processes within the organisation. Mr Savage also promised RTÉ would implement all recommendations in the Carragher report within an agreed timeline.
