No proposals for staff redundancies or selling assets at RTE: Media minister

It comes after a Government TD denied that the coalition could seek ‘revenge’ on the broadcaster amid ongoing revelations.

Catherine Martin, Minister for Tourism and Culture (PA) (PA Wire)

Media Minister Catherine Martin has no proposals for staff redundancies or selling assets at RTE, a spokesman said as a TD denied the Government could be seeking “revenge” on the broadcaster.

It comes after the Irish Mail On Sunday, citing Cabinet sources, reported on plans that could see the commercial and public service parts of the broadcaster split, radio station 2FM sold, and significant redundancies be implemented.

On Friday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar expressed concern that commercial and public funds “all goes into the one pot”, suggesting that would no longer be appropriate.

“There are no proposals by the minister for staff redundancies or selling assets,” a spokesman said in response to a query from the PA news agency.

“These, and related issues, would be matters for the RTE Board in the first instance.”

Ms Martin is said to be “acutely aware” of staff concerns after meeting with them, and recognises the “real and understandable anger the public feels”.

“However, what she wants to see is fundamental change, not piecemeal reactions,” the statement said.

I don't think it's revenge in anybody's heart or mind in trying to sort out this in RTE

Niamh Smyth, Fianna Fáil TD

Earlier on Sunday, a Government TD denied that the coalition could be seeking “revenge” against RTE while it was vulnerable due to the debacle around undeclared payments to its star presenter Ryan Tubridy.

Fianna Fail TD Niamh Smyth, who is chairwoman of the media committee, said neither she, her committee, nor the Media minister were using the controversy at the broadcaster to “wield revenge”, and emphasised that staff at the station could not become “collateral damage”.

“I’m pretty certain from speaking with the minister this morning, that is our intention: to protect the staff, to protect RTE, and when I say ‘protect’ I mean protect that entity of public service broadcasting,” she told Newstalk.

Agreeing that putting forward proposals before the review would be putting the cart before the horse, she said that “ultimately, there’s one minister responsible for media” and she wasn’t seeking revenge on the station.

She added: “I don’t think it’s revenge in anybody’s heart or mind in trying to sort out this in RTE.”

Ireland’s public service broadcaster has been embroiled in controversy since it revealed that it had under-declared fees paid to highest-earner Tubridy over several years.

Most of the focus has been on two undeclared 75,000 euro payments made by RTE to Tubridy for the years 2021 and 2022, which were made after RTE reportedly underwrote the amounts due to Tubridy from Late Late Show sponsor Renault.

Political and media scrutiny has focused on why this guarantee was given, what level of governance and financial controls are in place at the broadcaster, and the use of a barter account used to pay the amounts, dubbed a “slush fund” by politicians and a former RTE chair.

RTE operates on a dual funding model, with 55% of its income, 200 million euro a year, brought in by way of the licence fee – which costs Irish households with a television 160 euro a year.

In recent years, RTE has emphasised a funding crisis at the broadcaster and called for reform of the licence fee, stating that millions were being lost annually by people evading the fee and using the RTE Player on phones and tablets.

Cabinet is due to meet on Tuesday and expected to approve Ms Martin’s proposal to launch an external review into RTE’s governance – with this now expected to include an external auditor.

Minister of State Ossian Smyth told RTE’s The Week In Politics that the external review process is expected to take a number of months, and would include interim reports.

He also said that Ms Martin has the power under the Broadcasting Act to send in an auditor, and he expected that she “will use that power”.

I expect that she will use that power

Minister of State Ossian Smyth on an external auditor being appointed.

Ms Martin is also due to meet with chairwoman of the RTE board Siun Ni Raghallaigh and incoming director general Kevin Bakhurst in the coming days to discuss the external review, Mr Bakhurst’s plan to “reconstitute” the executive board and to engage with RTE staff.

The Oireachtas media committee has also invited former chairwoman of the RTE board Moya Doherty, ex director general Noel Curran, and former chief financial officer Breda O’Keeffe to answer TDs’ and Senators’ questions on Wednesday.

Speaking on Newstalk’s On The Record programme, Niamh Smyth said they would try to find out what knowledge there was of the undeclared payments.

“The crux of this is about secret payments and the deception of that and I suppose the intended mechanism that was put in place to deceive, not just the public, but the government and the taxpayer, ultimately,” she said.

Ms Smyth said “it wasn’t lost” on committee members that no executive member came to the committee last Wednesday with an opening statement, which is used by witnesses to lay information before committees.

She said that Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly would be invited before members once the work with the RTE board and executives had been completed, and said the invite to ex director general Dee Forbes “still stands”.

Time is also being set aside in the Dail on Tuesday afternoon to allow TDs to give statements about recent developments at RTE.