Questions answered, and unanswered, in RTÉ debacle

RTÉ spent several hours before the Oireachtas media committee on Wednesday, the third such hearing in eight days. It was yet another chastening affair for the national broadcaster, with internal divisions on display and fresh evidence of governance failings.

Tubridy and his agent

A solicitor for Ryan Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly wrote to committee chairwoman Niamh Smyth on Wednesday, saying they have “important information” and wish to meet next week with the panel. The move came as the star presenter faced the prospect of being compelled to attend if did he not go voluntarily. Tubridy is off the air but he is still being paid. RTÉ interim deputy director general Adrian Lynch said there were “certainly elements” of Tubridy’s contract “that are in dispute with the agent”. Asked about Kelly’s role as the dominant agent for RTÉ presenters, former RTÉ chairwoman Moya Doherty said it was “not as it should be”.

Tubridy’s 2020 deal

Former RTÉ chief financial officer Breda O’Keeffe took issue with a statement last week from the RTÉ executive on the talks with Tubridy, saying her reflections were “more akin to what happened”. O’Keeffe said Tubridy and his agent “didn’t refuse to take a cut”, adding “it was the level of cut we disagreed on”. One big issue is RTÉ's decision to guarantee top-up payments in a three-way deal with Tubridy and Renault. However, O’Keeffe said there was “no cost” to RTÉ in the proposal when she left the organisation at the end of March 2020. She said she briefed her successor Richard Collins “on all aspects” of the Tubridy negotiation when leaving. Collins said he attended a meeting on April 30th, 2020, “where it was confirmed that there would be no guarantee given”.

[ RTÉ staff member benefited from unapproved deal that led to loan of car for five years ]

The guarantee was given in a verbal agreement the next month in a video meeting involving the then RTÉ director general Dee Forbes and Kelly. Collins said the first he knew of the guarantee was after the hidden payments were raised by RTÉ auditors in March. “I never saw the commercial contract, I wasn’t involved in the negotiations there,” he said in reference to the Renault deal. Despite RTÉ's public statements about presenter pay, the committee was given a July 2020 letter to Tubridy from RTÉ's then director general Dee Forbes saying he would not be asked to take a cut in fees for the duration of his contract.

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Staff car loan

Lynch revealed one RTÉ staff member was given a car on loan for five years and returned the vehicle only on Tuesday, almost a fortnight into the hidden payments affair. “That was not approved,” said Lynch. “In terms of our employee handbook, anybody who has a commercial arrangement like that needs approval from their line manager.” He declined to name the staff member or the area in which the person works, and would not identify the car brand. The disclosure came as RTÉ seeks “clarification” from staff members and contractors about any brand ambassador work, commercial agreements or external activities.

How many ‘barter’ accounts?

The affair took a sharp turn on Tuesday night when it emerged RTÉ had disclosed the existence of two new “barter” accounts, seemingly in conflict with a previous Oireachtas statement by Collins saying there was only one. Still, the chief financial officer told the committee there was indeed only one “consolidated” account in RTÉ's book but that three companies were feeding into it. “Everything was going into the balance sheet together.” Collins said he was not trying to “mislead or hide anything” by referring only to one account, saying it was a matter of “terminology”. But there is no doubt that news of RTÉ engagements with two new barter companies further undermined Government confidence in the organisation.

Barter spending

After claims that the barter account was no more than a “slush fund”, the disclosure of big spending on hospitality led to bitter committee criticism of money being used for tickets for concerts by Bruce Springsteen, Robbie Williams and Phil Collins. “I’ve heard of ‘Let Me Entertain You’ but it’s a bit ridiculous,” said Fine Gael TD Brendan Griffin. O’Keeffe said such barter accounts were a “standard industry mechanism” for selling surplus advertising, saying RTÉ's finance unit had financial control over the account while the commercial department had operational control. She went on to say money flowing through the account was part of RTÉ's monthly management accounts. But her successor Collins said the barter account was not accounted for in RTÉ's management accounts in 2019, the year before he joined the organisation.

Toy Show the Musical

RTÉ's board has asked accountants Grant Thornton to carry out an investigation into the failed Christmas show, Minister for Media Catherine Martin said before the committee met. The national broadcaster incurred a loss of €2.2 million on the production after selling only 11,000 National Convention Centre seats. RTÉ director of strategy Rory Coveney said Tubridy “just wasn’t interested” in a role in the production. “It wasn’t a hostile conversation,” Coveney said. “There were discussions about how he might participate but in the end, he didn’t.” Committee chair Niamh Smyth questioned the number of tickets issued free of charge and as competition prizes. “The idea that 9,000 bums on seats were free is an eye-watering figure.”

RTÉ divisions

After weeks of turmoil and with more disclosures yet to come, divisions are evident at the top of RTÉ. Chairwoman Siún Ní Raghallaigh said she was “deeply unhappy at the evident pattern of inconsistency and lack of completeness” in the information provided by the RTÉ executive. “Regrettably, this pattern has persisted I believe there is a high probability that more information will emerge in the days and weeks ahead. As a board, we cannot fulfil our role to the highest standards when we cannot rely on the information provided. This has eroded board confidence in the executive.” Despite many hours of exchanges before the committee on Wednesday, the next steps for Ní Raghallaigh, her board and the executive she so clearly criticised remain unclear.