RTÉ refuses to release Dee Forbes' contract despite request from PAC
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RTÉ is declining to release a full copy of former director general Dee Forbes' contract, as well as details of exit packages provided to other executives within the broadcaster.
A new set of documents, provided to the public accounts committee (PAC) by RTÉ, contains a refusal to disclose whether other individuals at RTÉ were provided with voluntary redundancies, despite their roles remaining in existence.
Asked by TDs at a previous PAC meeting for a full copy of Ms Forbes' contract, RTÉ has declined the request, citing that relevant information has already been provided.
“RTÉ declines the request for a copy of the former Director General’s contract of employment on the basis that relevant details of the former Director General’s terms of employment have been provided already,” the response letter reads.
The broadcaster said that it will reconsider the matter only if there is a “particular question or issue or concern” raised by the committee that can only be addressed with reference to Ms Forbes' contract.
Additionally, RTÉ is declining to share details of the exit package received by the former commercial director of the broadcaster, Geraldine O’Leary, who took early retirement in July.
The public service broadcaster said that this was due to “legal and contractual obligations”.
PAC also sought information around the exit package taken by former chief financial officer Breda O’Keeffe, particularly if other individuals had received similar severance deals. Ms O’Keeffe took a voluntary package to leave the broadcaster in 2020, with concerns being raised by unions around how she was granted redundancy.
In its response, RTÉ said it was “not in a position to comment” on Ms O’Keeffe’s arrangements.
However, the broadcaster confirmed that a review of its voluntary exit schemes in both 2017 and 2021 were now under way. RTÉ said that this review was being led by McCann Fitzgerald solicitors.
Alongside these details, RTÉ is publishing all of the communications and notes related to the negotiation of Ryan Tubridy’s contract, with portions of the documentation redacted. These documents date from 25 October 2019 to 20 July 2020.
Previously, RTÉ refused to publish a list of its top 100 earners, saying that it would be “inappropriate” to ask staff permission to release their names alongside their salaries.
The beleaguered state broadcaster is currently seeking approximately €34.5m in interim funding from the Government in the upcoming budget. Media Minister Catherine Martin is set to receive a report from the Government’s financial advisors NewERA, saying that such a report will have a “large bearing” on its funding.
RTÉ executives and board members are set to appear before the PAC again in the first week of October.