RTÉ executives will face further questioning from politicians on Thursday after Ryan Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly made claims that appeared to contradict evidence given to the committees last week on the concealed payments.
The national broadcaster’s director general Kevin Bakhurst, who took up the role on Monday, will appear before the Public Accounts Committee. He is likely to be questioned about his plans for reforming the national broadcaster, as well as how he intends to restore public and internal trust.
Mr Bakhurst will be joined by acting deputy director general Adrian Lynch and interim management team members Paula Mullooly, Richard Collins and Conor Mullen. However, former RTÉ chair Moya Doherty and former chief financial officer Breda O’Keeffe have both said they will not be in attendance at the meeting, which is scheduled to begin at 9.30am.
Ms Doherty has previously appeared before both PAC and the Oireachtas Media Committee as they separately investigate the controversy into undisclosed payments by RTÉ to the Mr Tubridy.
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In a letter sent to PAC on Wednesday morning, Ms Doherty indicated that she is “regrettably” not in a position to attend Thursday’s meeting.
In a note sent to the committee late on Monday evening Ms O’Keeffe said she attended the other committee because she was “surprised at certain responses given by RTÉ to the committees” on her role in “the Ryan Tubridy matter”.
She said that she had been obliged to take time off work and spend considerable time preparing for last week’s engagement, and she said she was currently engaging with Grant Thornton in its review of RTÉ top talent presenter earnings, which is also having an impact on her other commitments. “I therefore respectfully decline the Public Accounts Committee meeting invitation to attend before it.”
Last week the former CFO told an Oireachtas committee that Mr Tubridy’s agent asked for the commercial agreement to be underwritten by RTÉ “and this was refused”.
“This continued to be my position and, as far as I am aware, that of the director general, head of content and the RTÉ solicitor up to the date of my departure from RTÉ in March 2020,” she said.
However, prior to their appearance before politicians on Tuesday Mr Tubridy and Mr Kelly provided a dossier of documents to politicians. It included an email from Ms O’Keeffe to Mr Kelly on February 20th, 2020, talking about the €75,000 yearly Renault agreement. “We can provide you with a side letter to underwrite this fee for the duration of the contract,” Ms O’Keeffe said in the email.
Meanwhile, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan described Mr Tubridy as having a proud record and being a “successful and capable broadcaster”.
The Minister for Communications accepted there were failings in RTÉ but argued that it had strengths as well and they could not be ignored. “Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water,” he said, speaking to reporters at Government Buildings.
Mr Ryan said critical decisions would be made about RTÉ in the autumn, including its future funding model. “We need to be careful that we don’t undermine the strength that good journalism and good broadcasting can bring to this country.”
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, meanwhile, said she does not know for how long the Oireachtas committees will continue their inquiries into the RTÉ pay scandal, but that at some point a line would have to be drawn. She said the information that had been presented to the Oireachtas committees was “put together” and made public so that everybody could see what had happened.
Separately, there was a process whereby Minister for Media Catherine Martin was seeking a forensic review “looking at the accounts again to make sure that all of the facts are there, that they’re clear”, she added.
