RTÉ met Taoiseach to discuss future financing, GAA coverage and Eurovision before payments controversy erupted

The “need for certainty on future financing” for RTÉ, GAA coverage and the Eurovision Song Contest were all discussed at a meeting between Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and RTÉ which took place in the weeks before the national broadcaster became engulfed in controversy.

The purpose of the meeting was to introduce RTÉ's new chairwoman Siún Ní Raghallaigh and incoming director general Kevin Bakhurst to Mr Varadkar.

It took place on May 11th, six weeks before the storm that blew up over payments to former Late Late Show presenter Ryan Tubridy and separate spending by RTÉ on corporate hospitality.

The crisis at the broadcaster has been linked to a drop in TV licence sales in the first two weeks of July when compared to last year, adding to the financial pressure on RTÉ.

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It had already long been concerned about the current TV licence model, evasion rates and the implications for its funding.

Notes from the meeting with Mr Varadkar were released to The Irish Times by the Department of the Taoiseach under the Freedom of Information Act.

The document sets out how there was “a brief discussion of strategic priorities for RTÉ including digitisation, [the] role of the independent sector, need for certainty on future financing, recommendations of the Future of Media Commission and the regulatory functions of Coimisiún na Meán [the State’s new Media Commission].”

The “challenges with the current TV licence model” were discussed.

[ Reforms at RTÉ to be sought by Government before agreeing financial supports ]

The Government last year rejected a recommendation by the Future of Media Commission that public service media should be funded by central exchequer funds rather than from the current system of a TV licence.

The Coalition instead decided to set up a technical group on TV licence reform

Mr Varadkar is said to have told Ms Ní Raghallaigh and Mr Bakhurst in May that Minister for Media Catherine Martin planned to bring the technical group’s report to Government for a decision soon.

RTÉ told The Irish Times that the meeting with the Taoiseach took place more than a month before facts related to the current controversy had been established by professional services firm Grant Thornton.

The broadcaster said an issue with the transparency of certain payments was identified during a routine audit in late March, and the audit and risk committee of the RTÉ board commissioned Grant Thornton to carry out an independent review.

RTÉ said the chair of the RTÉ board alerted the Department of Media about the identification of this matter in March “and committed to providing a full update once the facts had been established”.

The Irish Times reported at the weekend that the Government is likely to seek reforms, including potential cost-cutting, at RTÉ before agreeing to any financial assistance for the station in the autumn.

RTÉ is seeking interim financial assistance from the Government in the budget in advance of a longer-term reform of how the station is funded, likely to begin next year when various inquiries into controversies are concluded.

[ Talent is now a dirty word at RTÉ, even though the broadcaster badly needs more of it ]

The notes of the May 11th meeting separately show that there was “brief mention of recent commentary on GAA coverage and the Eurovision”.

The meeting came amid controversy over GAAGO – a streaming service set up by the GAA and RTÉ – and decisions over which matches are screened behind a paywall.

Mr Varadkar said publicly at the time that it was not possible for RTÉ and TG4 to televise all matches given the numbers played each week but the solution would be that the “most important matches” would be broadcast for free.

The meeting took place two days after Ireland’s Eurovision hopefuls Wild Youth failed to qualify for the final of the song contest.

Mr Varadkar told Virgin Media that week he would like to see a “national song contest” as a way of choosing the entry but said it is “not my call as Taoiseach to do that, nor would it be my highest priority at the moment, by any means”.