RTÉ overhaul necessary 'to restore public trust'
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The new head of RTÉ said he is to begin overhauling the beleaguered broadcaster from Monday, saying that such a move is necessary to rebuild trust with the public.
Kevin Bakhurst made his first public comments since the secret payments controversy broke at RTÉ, just days before he assumes the role of director general.
Mr Bakhurst met with Media Minister Catherine Martin at her department on Thursday to outline his plan to reconstitute the RTÉ executive board, a plan which sources said will see "substantial" changes.
However, it is understood that any senior staff member who leaves RTÉ under Mr Bakhurst's plan will be asked to make themselves available to the root-and-branch reviews into the station which will begin in the coming weeks.
The meeting came ahead of a crunch week for RTÉ as its biggest star Ryan Tubridy gets set to face two Oireachtas committees on Tuesday, but was quickly overshadowed by revelations that RTÉ GAA presenter Marty Morrissey had taken use of a car for free from Renault since 2017 and had never declared it.
Last night it also emerged that three events hosted by Ryan Tubridy for Renault last year cost RTÉ €22,000 more than the broadcaster previously stated.
Last week, RTÉ said it spent €47,477 through its barter account to cover the cost of the events which took place in Cork, Dublin, and Louth between March 2022 and May 2022.
However, records shared with the Oireachtas media committee on Wednesday and analysed by show the actual costs were almost €70,000.
RTÉ agreed to pay for the staging of the Renault events as part of the three-party deal with the company and Mr Tubridy.
The latest revelations are likely to figure as Mr Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly appear before the Dáil Public Accounts Committee and the media committee. Both will appear before the PAC on Tuesday morning, with the media committee taking over in the afternoon.
The pair are aiming to put to bed the controversy surrounding misstated payments made by RTÉ to Mr Tubridy between 2017 and 2022.
A letter via their solicitor, sent to media committee chairwoman Niamh Smyth, states that both Mr Tubridy and Mr Kelly wish to “fully co-operate and assist” with the Oireachtas investigations into RTÉ expenditure and governance issues.
“They believe that they have important information that will assist the committee in its examination of these issues and clarify a number of matters that have been raised.”
A booklet of relevant documents will be prepared in advance of Mr Tubridy and Mr Kelly appearing, which will be circulated among TDs before the meeting. It comes following another bruising day for the national broadcaster at the media committee on Wednesday.
RTÉ will aim to put all of the issues which continue to dog the broadcaster to bed next week ahead of the Dáil recess, with an RTÉ source saying that "nobody wants the issue dragging into the summer". This will see:
- Mr Tubridy and Mr Kelly appear at both the Dáil Public Accounts Committee and Oireachtas media committee on Tuesday;
- RTÉ and GAA representatives appear before the media committee to discuss the GAAGo platform;
- Mr Bakhurst and RTÉ executives invited to face the PAC on Thursday.
Following his meeting with Arts Minister Catherine Martin, Mr Bakhurst said he believed a substantial amount of trust in the State broadcaster had been lost over the controversy surrounding secret payments to the former host Ryan Tubridy.
Mr Bakhurst said that he apologised for the loss of trust in RTÉ, and that it was his job now to rebuild that trust.
He admitted that he knew about the existence of a barter account at RTÉ while he was deputy director general at the station.
"The trust has been severely diminished," he said. "It's been a highly damaging few weeks for RTÉ.
Speaking in Dublin, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that people should continue to pay their TV licence, but would not be drawn on whether Ryan Tubridy should make a return to the airwaves soon.
“As to paying a TV licence, I always have and will continue to do so," he said.
"Not just because it's the law, but also because it funds public service broadcasting.
“It funds a lot of the news we watch, the films and sport that we watch, and it pays for Irish-language programming, children's programming, documentaries, and so on.
“I think I can understand people's frustration, but you know, I don't want to impose some form of collective punishment on everyone who works in RTÉ and in that whole sector and industry. And that's why I will keep paying.”