The Irish Times view on the RTÉ crisis: restoring public trust

Over the course of its history, RTÉ has endured moments of intense controversy and crisis. More than once, its relationship with governments has reached breaking point. At other times, it has been responsible for serious errors which caused it reputational and financial damage. Such tensions and mishaps, while grave, must be expected in an organisation whose scale and complexity make it the single most important media platform in the State. And the institution has usually managed to right the ship and repair the damage done.

But there is something about this week’s revelation that the broadcaster failed over the course of several years to provide an accurate account of the fees paid to presenter Ryan Tubridy that crystallises RTÉ's current shortcomings in a particularly damaging way. The sum of money involved, while considerable, is not hugely consequential in terms of the overall size and cost of running the national public broadcaster. Much more disturbing are the questions the episode raises about governance, accountability and ethical standards.

Those questions could not come at a worse time for RTÉ. With a new director general due to take up his role in two weeks’ time, and a chair only a few months into her term, the executive and board must move decisively to begin rebuilding public trust. That will be difficult and may be painful for some senior figures in the organisation. But a recurring theme from RTÉ's harshest critics has been that an inward-looking culture and weak management have contributed to its failure to rise to the challenge posed by a digitally disrupted media environment where old certainties no longer apply. That critique will be strengthened by this week’s events.

The affair offers ammunition to those in politics and business who would prefer to see public service media brought to heel, or even extinguished. Since the story broke on Thursday, we have heard that an increase in public funding is now off the agenda. But the seriousness of the betrayal of trust that has occurred should not obscure the fact that at least three governments in a row have procrastinated over decisions that still need to be made to render RTÉ fit for purpose.

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The principle of a publicly-funded national media company which serves the people and is free from bias or government interference remains worth defending. It is even more compelling in a small country where most media are owned and controlled from outside the State. Among European countries, Ireland is uniquely open to competition from the globalised Anglophone entertainment industries. Without public service media, Irish people would see and hear far fewer of their own stories being told. All the more reason for them to be disheartened by this betrayal and to demand a comprehensive explanation of how and why it happened.