Statement by Minister Martin following the Government meeting on 7 May 2024

Check Against Delivery

Last July, Government decided to commission Reviews of Governance and Culture and of Contractor Fees, HR and Other Matters in RTÉ from two Expert Advisory Committees.

The purpose of these reviews was to address many of the core issues that gave rise to the governance and other failures we have witnessed in RTÉ and make recommendations to address them.

I also exercised my powers under section 109(7)(a) of the Broadcasting Act to appoint forensic accountants, Mazars, to examine the RTÉ barter account and identify whether RTÉ held any other off-balance sheet accounts.

The reports on 'Toy Show The Musical' and RTÉ's 2017 and 2021 Voluntary Exit Programmes published earlier this year brought to light, in considerable detail, more governance failures in RTÉ. Mazars final report, which I publish today, which includes the results of a detailed examination of every transaction made through the barter account from 2017 to 2022, provides further evidence of poor governance. I will be writing to the RTÉ Chair regarding the findings of Mazars report and to seek a review of hospitality and travel and subsistence expenditure reported to Ministers over the period 2017 to 2022.

Each of these fact-finding reports demonstrates why it was so important that Government agreed last July to commission reviews which would make forward-looking recommendations to chart a future path for RTÉ.

I have today published those reviews. The 116 recommendations made by the Expert Advisory Committees are a blueprint for the further reform of RTÉ. If they are implemented in full, I am confident that they will improve the governance of RTÉ, both internally and externally, and ensure that the culture of the organisation better reflects the values of public service broadcasting that are so clearly demonstrated by RTÉ staff every day.

The reviews point the way to a more inclusive, transparent and accountable organisation, one that truly has the character of a public service. Their recommendations will require an approach to presenter pay that is transparent, consistent, fair, clear and sustainable. They will bring further transparency on the remuneration of top earners in RTÉ, both on-air and off-air. They will endow the RTÉ Board with the authority and skills to strategically direct RTÉ on behalf of and for the benefit of the public. Most importantly, they will ensure that the RTÉ Leadership Team is accountable to the RTÉ Board and ultimately to the Oireachtas.

Each of the members of the Expert Advisory Committees is an expert in their field. I would like to recognise the enormous commitment they have made through this process. Their comprehensive reviews are a testament to their expertise and to their dedication to their task.

That is why the Government today considered the recommendations made by the Expert Advisory Committees and agreed to accept them in principle, recognising that the vast majority of them will require implementation by RTÉ.

To that end, I have asked RTÉ to prepare an implementation plan for submission to my Department within six weeks, setting out detailed actions and timelines. I spoke to the Chair of the RTÉ Board and the Director General and they have assured me that RTÉ accepts the recommendations of the Committees in principle and that they are fully committed to the process of implementation.

The Reviews I have published today make clear that the governance of RTÉ requires radical reform. While much of this work must be carried out by the RTÉ Board and Leadership Team, the Review of Governance and Culture found that the legislative framework underpinning the governance of RTÉ contained in the Broadcasting Act needs fundamental reform.

The proposal to re-instate the Comptroller and Auditor General to RTÉ has been one that I have been considering since the crisis in RTÉ first emerged. I also want to acknowledge that it is one of the key recommendations made by the Public Accounts Committee in their own recommendations.

Given the recommendations of the Review of Governance and Culture and of the Public Accounts Committee, Government today agreed to move forward on this issue. I therefore intend to prepare and bring forward detailed legislative proposals to Government to assign the Comptroller and Auditor General as auditor of RTÉ and to ensure that RTÉ is directly accountable to the Public Accounts Committee for their expenditure. I will also bring forward legislative measures to enhance the duties and strengthen the role and authority of the RTÉ Board and to ensure that the Director General is accountable to the RTÉ Board.

Earlier today, the Chair and DG of RTÉ both gave me a clear commitment that RTÉ accept the recommendations of the Reviews in principle and will implement the recommendations of the Expert Advisory Committees. On foot of this, I intend, with the agreement of the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, to release the first tranche of €40 million in additional Exchequer resources allocated to RTÉ this year. The dispersal of the final tranche later this year will be subject to a satisfactory assessment of RTÉ's updates on the implementation of the plan by my Department and the further agreement of the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.

The legislative measures I have announced today and the full implementation of the recommendations of the Expert Advisory Committees by RTÉ will provide part of the scaffolding for a new framework for public service media in our country. They will provide the basis for the restoration of the trust and confidence of the people and Oireachtas in RTÉ.

However, this framework will be incomplete until it rests on the foundation of a funding model capable of delivering stability and certainty for public service media and a regulatory model capable of both ensuring its independence from Government and assessing its performance.

Bringing forward a robust implementation plan will also therefore be a prerequisite for the Government making a decision before the Summer recess on the future funding model for public service broadcasting. I have signalled my determination to do so, not just to finally put RTÉ on a sustainable footing, but to underpin trustworthy news and Irish content right across the audiovisual sector.

Má chuirtear i bhfeidhm na moltaí seo a tháinig ó na hathbhreithnithe atá foilsithe agam inniu, táim lánchinnte go mbeidh RTÉ athnuaite, inbhuanaithe agus iontaofa againn. Tá sé seo tuillte ag muintir na hÉireann.

Go raibh maith agaibh.