Minister for Media Catherine Martin has said she has been assured by RTÉ's Director General Kevin Bakhurst that the €450,000 payment to the organisation's former finance boss was compliant with the rules and does not need to be reassessed.Following discussions this afternoon, Ms Martin said Mr Bakhurst was "absolutely confident" that the method of calculation for the lump sum payment to Breda O'Keeffe was in compliance with the terms of the 2017 voluntary exit scheme.As the political focus now shifts to the exit payment for the former RTÉ Director of Strategy, Rory Coveney, Mr Bakhurst is to seek updated legal advice to see if details of this and other payments can be made public."I emphasised to the Director General that transparency is key here," Ms Martin said.She said maximum transparency is needed to restore trust in RTÉ.Ms Martin said she first heard about Ms O'Keeffe's exit package yesterday."Yesterday is when I was informed, and I think the committee meeting yesterday once again highlighted that what we saw in the McCann Fitzgerald report in RTÉ is an appalling disregard for the principles of equity, fairness and transparency in the treatment of staff which prevailed at the time," she said.Earlier in the Dáil, Sinn Féin TD Imelda Munster asked Ms Martin if she believed Ms O'Keeffe should pay back the "whopper €450,000 package that did not comply with any scheme?"Ms Martin responded saying that while there may not be a legal obligation on the former Chief Financial Officer, she agreed that there is a moral obligation.Kevin Bakhurst told the Oireachtas Committee on Media that Ms O'Keeffe was paid €450,000 when she left the organisation.He also confirmed that former executive Rory Coveney was given an "exit package" when he resigned last year.Speaking on RTÉ's News At One earlier, Ms Martin said her relationship is directly with the chair of the RTÉ Board and "it is not for the minister of media to interfere with operational matters with the DG".She said the package did not follow the appropriate approval processes and there was no level of savings achieved.She added that other staff members are rightly frustrated and upset by that because they applied to the same scheme and were deemed not to have met the criteria.Asked if she has been given any details on the exit package for Mr Coveney, Ms Martin said severance agreements would typically be confidential and there are legal constraints.However, she said that while she respects the confidentiality clauses, she would encourage the need for full transparency in relation to all those matters and she is hoping that a way can be found to ensure that more information comes to light.RTÉ said that the estimated potential tax liability on the voluntary severance payment for Ms O'Keeffe is around €11,000.However, a spokesman for the organisation said it is subject to review by Revenue.RTÉ has said the value of the exit package for Ms O'Keeffe was in line with the rules of the 2017 voluntary exit scheme.Mr Bakhurst has also said he has "absolute confidence" in the Director of Human Resources Eimear Cusack and "needs her to continue the important work she is leading to help deliver much-needed reform of RTÉ".In response to a question about when the Director General was first told of the value of Ms O'Keefe's exit package, RTÉ said "Kevin Bakhurst started in the role of Director-General of RTÉ on Monday 10th July 2023 and discussed the matter with Eimear Cusack that day."Asked about details of an exit package given to former executive Rory Coveney and whether any other departing executive received a package, RTÉ said it was "not in a position to comment further on any of the individuals referred to for legal reasons".Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said the exit package given to Ms O'Keeffe should be reassessed.Speaking in Dublin, he said if the amount paid out was too high, the proper package should be identified and anything above that should be "handed back".Meanwhile, Ms Cusack is on "very shaky ground" over the redundancy package to Ms O'Keeffe, a Fine Gael TD has said.Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Fine Gael TD Alan Dillon described the sum paid to Ms O'Keeffe as "staggering".Mr Dillon, who is also a member of the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee, said there were "audible gasps" at yesterday's committee hearing when Mr Bakhurst disclosed the figure.He said while there may be no legal basis for Ms O'Keeffe to repay the €450,000, there is an argument that this was not a redundancy as the position was not eliminated."It is evident that this has the hallmark of a golden handshake in the region of €450,000, which is astonishing."Mr Dillon said the situation highlighted the lack of control at RTÉ and the absence of proper governance."The fact that no one raised their voice when scrutinising these types of decisions and secondly, it also highlights the power that the former director general Dee Forbes had when starting her role in 2016 - became so powerful within just 12 months, that she could override all management controls and authorise payments to the tune of €450,000 in this case."Ms Cusack told yesterday's committee hearing that she "did not conceal anything" and "processed something under instruction" when she signed off on Ms O'Keeffe's departure.She also said she "should have pushed back further", adding that RTÉ will bear the cost of tax liabilities arising from voluntary exit payments.Mr Dillon said her error is being "dismissed as an administrative oversight", which "raises enormous red flags".He added that he believes Mr Bakhurst needs to do more than reconstituting the executive management board.Mr Dillon said that Ms Cusack "oversaw the biggest exit package in her time without undertaking the correct checks and balances, and there needs to be consequences in relation to that."And while he [Kevin Bakhurst] has faith in her as they transition to a new governance and management structure, I think he really needs to reflect in relation to this revelation."
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