The Taoiseach has said the Government is considering bringing RTÉ under the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General.Leo Varadkar made the comment at tonight's Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting.The Comptroller and Auditor General audits the accounts of Government Departments and State bodies to ensure public funds are well managed.The office's annual report is then submitted to the Dáil and scrutinised by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).RTÉ has been outside the remit since the early 1990s but that could change quite soon.While speaking in the Dáil earlier today, Mr Varadkar said that confidentiality clauses for exit packages were "the norm" in RTÉ which "is not right".Mr Varadkar repeated his belief "that there should be a cap" on the value of exit packages which use public money.He restated his view that "confidentiality clauses should be avoided by public bodies", although there may be cases where they are needed."It seems they were the norm rather than the exception in RTÉ, and that's not right," he told the Dáil.Meanwhile, political indications suggest that the latest RTÉ legal advice makes it clear that confidentially agreements cannot be breached without taking court action.It's likely that politicians will now seek an overall figure for the amount RTÉ paid to top executives who left their jobs.Earlier this evening, RTÉ said that it had received "full legal advice" regarding the publication of details of exit packages and had briefed Minister for Media Catherine Martin.A spokesperson for Ms Martin confirmed that she received the updated legal advice from RTÉ."Minister Martin has received from RTÉ their updated legal advice in relation to exit packages, and was given a briefing by the Director General [Kevin Bakhurst] and the Chair of RTÉ [Siún Ní Raghallaigh]."Minister Martin will not be commenting until after it is published by RTÉ."Speaking on Monday following a meeting with Mr Bakhurst and Ms Ní Raghallaigh, Minister Martin said that confidentially agreements should be avoided if at all possible in any future exit payments at RTÉ and a cap on these payments should be introduced.Mr Bakhurst said on Monday that RTÉ has to "respect the law" in relation to the publication of exit package details.He said at the time that external lawyers were examining "how far we can push transparency and what we can and what we can't say".He added: "And off the back of that advice we'll be seeing how far we can push transparency about some of the questions that have been raised - mindful of, we have to respect the law as an organisation and also mindful of all employees' rights in RTÉ, which is always a maximum consideration for us."At the weekend, Mr Bakhurst confirmed that former director of strategy Rory Coveney received an exit payment when he stood down from his role last July.He also said that RTÉ's former chief financial officer Richard Collins departed RTÉ "by mutual agreement, with a binding confidentiality clause that was agreed to by both sides and in the interest of fairness and respect cannot be breached".This morning, Minister for Finance Michael McGrath said the Government will make a decision regarding RTÉ's long-term funding position in a "period of calm".Mr McGrath said that would happen after the Government's two reports into culture and corporate governance are published.He also questioned RTÉ's use of confidentiality clauses in exit payments, saying: "I would question why RTÉ would put itself in that straightjacket."He said such agreements should only be used in exceptional circumstances.Meanwhile, an Oireachtas committee has heard that RTÉ's income in 2023 was around €340m.Mr Bakhurst told the Irish Language Committee that RTÉ's accounts are being finalised.Around half of the €340m came from the licence fee and half from commercial revenues.This year, he said that RTÉ's overall income will be approximately the same, as the Government will make up the shortfall from the licence fee by up to €40m.
© RTÉ 2024.