Long before the arrival of RTÉ a particular brand of storytelling was woven deep into Irish culture.Back then we are told people went "ag bothántaíocht," going from to house to hear the best stories.The finest storytellers could sustain a yarn for lengthy periods even when the conclusion looked to be within view several times.Unwittingly the current RTÉ saga has borrowed liberally from this tradition and an ending to this story looks as elusive as ever.There remains a gushing stream of troubling questions about it all.These stem primarily from the events of last year and bring to mind William Faulkner's line that "the past is never dead. It's not even past".It is not clear why the Minister for Media Catherin Martin did not know about the role the RTÉ Board played in the financial settlement for former CFO Richard Collins given that Siún Ní Raghallaigh told the Department of the process last October.However, the former secretary general at the Department of Media has no recollection of this exact detail being communicated.Why however did the Minister not call Siún Ní Raghallaigh on the phone yesterday to get clarity on this issue instead of making her strong views known on Prime Time?Was the Minister called a number of times by Ms Ní Raghallaigh yesterday and were those calls not answered by Catherine Martin? On this question a spokesperson for the Minister said she checked her phone and she has no record of any calls.Equally pertinent is the question as to how the Minister left a meeting this week with the Chair of the RTÉ Board and the Director General Kevin Bakhurst under the impression that Richard Collins' exit package did not get the green light from the Board?RTÉ offered the following explanation this morning saying "a large volume of issues were addressed and discussed, and within that context some confusion arose regarding a question from the Minister to the Chair about the approval by the RTÉ Board of the exit of former CFO Richard Collins"."The Chair had in fact informed the Department about the process which led to Richard Collins' departure from RTÉ on October 10th, the day after it was approved at the Remuneration Committee which has delegated powers from the Board. This detail was taken as read although it seems now that it shouldn't have been," an RTÉ statement said.The wording is quite diplomatic but the central point is contentious.RTÉ bosses essentially believed the Media Minister knew about all this but Catherine Martin contends that she was misinformed by Siún Ní Raghallaigh this week.This set in train an extraordinary appearance by the Minister on Prime Time which the Labour Party believes amounted to the summary dismissal of Ms Ní Raghallaigh.Ivana Bacik said this now makes the Minister's position untenable.However, the Government party leaders are firmly backing the Minister and moves are afoot already apparently to quickly appoint a new Board Chair.Catherine Martin did answer media questions this evening but the curtain has not fallen on this controversy just yet.The Minister is adamant that there is nothing confusing about any of this.She asked the Chair of the Board very straightforward questions and got incorrect answers on both Monday and Wednesday last.The fact that Siún Ní Raghallaigh never mentioned Rory Coveney's goodbye payment over the last number of months seems to have particularly vexed Ms Martin.It all culminated in a dramatic night when Siún Ní Raghallaigh's resignation became inevitable.It was unedifying and needlessly messy.There is a piece of political wisdom which warns that things can always get worse, but perhaps this is the lowest ebb in the RTÉ crisis.
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