Minister for Media Catherine Martin has said the Government can now chart a path forward for RTÉ following the publication of reports on governance and culture at RTÉ and on contractor fees and HR.Minister Martin said the root and branch examinations were needed due failings in the past."We now see the blueprint for going forward and that’s to be welcomed," she told RTÉ's Six One news.She said RTÉ must now come up with a plan within six weeks that will outline how the reports' recommendations will be implemented, as well as a timeline for this.She said a monitoring unit involving her officials and New Era will be set up to check in with RTÉ on a quarterly basis to make sure that this is being done.She said that with the full implementation of the recommendations, "we will see a cultural change and proper governance internally and externally for RTÉ, that will reflect the values of public service media that we see delivered by staff here every single day".Minister Martin said if the 116 recommendations are implemented in full, it will deliver "radical reform" within RTÉ.Ms Martin confirmed earlier today that legislation is being drafted to ensure that the Comptroller and Auditor General becomes RTÉ’s auditor, in line with one of the recommendations.She said that as RTÉ had accepted the recommendations "in principle", the Cabinet has agreed to release €40 million in interim funding.The first tranche will be €20m, with the remainder being dependent on implementation by RTÉ of the review recommendations.On the question of a future funding model for RTÉ, Minister Martin said she was determined that the decision will be taken before the summer recess.She said it will depend on what option is chosen, whether direct exchequer funding or a broadcasting charge.She said once a decision is made, the Government will then have to legislate for it and it will come under the Broadcasting Act.RTÉ said it welcomed the publication of the three reports and that it accepts in principle the recommendations made by the two Expert Advisory Committees."RTÉ has supported both Expert Advisory Committees and Mazars in their work and we welcome the publication of their reports by Government today," said Terence O'Rourke, Chair of the RTÉ Board."Their analyses and their recommendations, all of which we accept in principle, will make a significant contribution to the task of rebuilding trust in RTÉ," Mr O'Rourke said.In a statement, RTÉ today published details of the total amount of compensation paid to key management personnel in 2023, usually reported in its annual reports."None of the former members of the RTÉ Executive, written to by RTÉ, has consented to waiving their right to confidentiality regarding exit payments," according to the statement.The figures show that the total amount of compensation paid to key management personnel in 2023 was €4 million, up from €3.3 million in 2022.Termination benefits, including legal fees, came to €700,000 last year, up from €300,000 in 2022.The National Union of Journalists said its members would be examining the implications of the recommendations made today and would engage, through the RTÉ Trade Union Group, with management on the impact on RTÉ employees.NUJ Irish Secretary Séamus Dooley warned "that the timescale proposed for full acceptance of the recommendations is unrealistic given the breadth and depth of the reports".He said: "Given the financial challenges facing RTÉ and the uncertainty surrounding the funding of public service broadcasting, I am concerned at the six-week delay in government approval of a new funding model."Catherine Murphy, Social Democrats TD and Leas-Chathaoirleach of the Public Accounts Committee said that the RTÉ reports propose more oversight, transparency, fairness and better controls, adding that all are needed.She said it was now a question of getting down to decisions by RTÉ and the Government."It will make a sizeable difference if the recommendations are implemented and I would expect they will be."Deputy Martin said she was concerned about procrastination on funding of RTÉ.She said there was no reason why the Government could not indicate the favoured method of funding, assuming that RTÉ fully implements the recommendations.She said RTÉ will be required to show how the recommendations are going to be implemented. She added that in some cases this will be very quick, but other aspects will take time and may require legislative change depending on the funding mechanism that is decided upon.
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