RTÉ News: Dept told in October of exit payment approvals by RTÉ Board

Story from RTÉ News:

It has emerged that officials from the Department of Media were told last October that a subcommittee of the RTÉ Board was approving exit payments.

Minister for Media Catherine Martin said that she was not aware that RTÉ's remuneration committee was specifically approving these payments.

The officials were attending a sitting of the Dáil's Public Accounts Committee on 12 October when an RTÉ executive confirmed that the remuneration committee was now covering exit packages.

A spokesperson for Minister Martin has played down the significance of the revelation, reported in the Business Post newspaper.

He said it was not obvious from a "passing reference" at the committee that the new responsibility for the remuneration committee had come into effect or that it had applied in relation to the approval of the exit package for RTÉ's former chief financial officer a few days earlier.

In the wake of the resignation of RTÉ chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh in controversial circumstances, there has been a disagreement between the RTÉ Board and the minister over how much was conveyed to the Department about the approval of an exit package for former CFO Richard Collins.

Ms Ní Raghallaigh resigned a few hours after Minister Martin had on Thursday declined to express confidence in her in an interview on RTÉ's Prime Time.

A sitting of the Public Accounts Committee on 12 October last examined the ongoing RTÉ controversies.

RTÉ's Director General Kevin Bakhurst and former director of legal affairs Paula Mullooly were attending along with officials from the Department of Media led by former Secretary General Katherine Licken.

In response to a question about RTÉ's remuneration committee, Ms Mullooly said there had been a "significant rewriting of the terms of reference".

She said: "It is designed to cover not only executive pay and presenters' pay but also things like exit packages or voluntary exit programmes, VEPs, for executive members.

"It is more thorough. The remuneration committee has met five times since April this year. It will report to the board at every meeting. All subcommittees will now present a report to the board at every board meeting," Ms Mullooly said.

She added that the new terms of reference had been signed off by the board on 26 September.

Asked for a response, a spokesperson for Ms Martin also said that if the Board's new responsibility was as widely known as suggested, the chair would have been expected to know about it when she was asked by Minister Martin last week.

Ms Martin has said she was misinformed twice by Ms Ní Raghallaigh last week on whether RTÉ's Board approved the exit package for former CFO Richard Collins.

Ms Ní Raghallaigh has said this was "not an intentional misrepresentation", and she subsequently contacted the Department to clarify the details.

Ms Martin's spokesperson added that rather than confirming that the new terms of reference had been used to approve Mr Collins’ exit package, Ms Ní Raghallaigh told the Minister that this new responsibility would come into effect in the future.

Sinn Féin has called on Minister Martin to answer questions in the Dáil chamber on her handling of the RTÉ crisis.

She will appear before an Oireachtas committee next week to answer questions on the fallout from the resignation of Ms Ní Raghallaigh in the early hours of Friday morning.

Speaking on RTÉ's The Week in Politics, Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Health David Cullinane said the party had written to the Ceann Comhairle to request Minister Martin answer questions on the issue.

"Minister Catherine Martin needs to come before the Dáil and answer questions from the entire Dáil to set the record straight. That's where the business needs to be done," he said.

Mr Cullinane added that people's faith in RTÉ has been "rocked to its foundations" due to the financial scandals at the broadcaster over the past year and that "it has been compounded by what people what people have seen over the last few days".

"There is a lack of accountability, a lack of transparency and, in my view, there's a lack of confidence from the public in relation to how this minister and the Government have handled this issue," he said.

Minister of State Jack Chambers said Minister Martin's focus has been on transparency and that she is willing to give statements on the issue to the Dáil.

"There has been accountability," Mr Chambers said.

"She's been forthright in providing the information.

"We want to see RTÉ being put on a stable financial footing and that we promote public service broadcasting as an absolute priority, but we have to ensure that the reports that have been commissioned and have been progressed are brought to a conclusion and that we make sure governance, transparency and a new culture is what's prioritised in the context of a new funding model," Mr Chambers said.

"And that's something Minister Martin has been seeking to progress."

He said the minister had given honest updates on information she had in her interview on Prime Time.

Social Democrats TD Róisín Shortall said the minister's interview caused instability at the national broadcaster.

"At a point last week when it looked like the ship was being steadied, Catherine Martin came along and threw in a grenade," she said.

"It reignited massive uncertainty and huge demoralisation for staff and that's just not on. She has a lot to answer for."

Ms Shortall added that the last thing anyone has is transparency about the issue and the minister has taken a hands-off approach to RTÉ.

Independent TD Marian Harkin said it appears there was no transparency and she agreed that the minister should answer questions in the Dáil about what was described as the minister's "poor decision" to go on Prime Time.

"This is taking up too much airtime. It's of no benefit to anybody. We need to get on with the business of ensuring RTÉ is a public service broadcaster that the public can have faith in," she said.

The Oireachtas Committee on Media will hold a special three-hour session on Tuesday evening to examine the controversy.

Opposition parties have severely criticised the minister's handling of the crisis with Labour accusing her of engaging in "summary dismissal" of Ms Ní Raghallaigh.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste Micheál Martin both expressed confidence in Minister Martin following the resignation.

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