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Recommendations For Better Governance At State Broadcaster

Tuesday, 5 March 2024 12:20

That includes the removal of confidentiality clauses.

A number of recommendations have been made to ensure better governance at RTÉ, including removing confidentiality clauses.

The Public Accounts Committee is also formally advising the broadcaster comes under the remit of the State auditor.

The PAC also says side deals shouldn't be allowed at RTE, and there should be a clear policy for staff using social media for promotional reasons.

Its Chair, Laois Offaly Sinn Féin TD, Brian Stanley says taxpayers won’t put up with any more confidential deals:

The former RTE Chair's "savaging" of Media Minister Catherine Martin will keep the latest crisis at the State broadcaster in the headlines for now, according to a former Midlands correspondant with the station.

Ciaran Mullooly believes the public are tired of the story.

He says first phase of the RTE scandal was so outlandish, nothing will surprise anybody anymore:

Meanwhile, the Tánaiste is refusing to pick sides in the war of words between the Media Minister and the former Chair of the RTE Board.

Siún Ní Raghallaigh yesterday claimed Minister Catherine Martin "enforced" her departure from the board and tried to damage her reputation.

There's also conflicting accounts of how many times the pair met, with Ms. Ní Raghallaigh saying there was only a handful of meetings, and Minister Martin previously stating they had monthly meetings.

Tánaiste Michael Martin doesn't believe the focus should be on choosing sides:

It was also announced that Terence O'Rourke has been appointed is the new Chairperson of the Board of RTÉ this afternoon. 

Media Minister Catherine Martin says she intends to meet him in the coming days.

Terri Moloney and Neasa Hardiman have also been confirmed as board members.

Minister Martin says all three "bring with them a range of experiences and attributes."

The National Union of Journalists is welcoming the publication of the report of the Public Accounts Committee on financial management of RTE.  With sister unions and the RTÉ Trade Union Group the NUJ will be considering the extensive recommendations of the Committee.

Giving an initial reaction to the report Séamus Dooley, Irish Secretary, NUJ, supported the inclusion of RTÉ under the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General and called for publication of the two expert reports on Governance and Workplace Culture “as soon as possible” to expedite the implementation of organisational and cultural change in the public service broadcaster.

Séamus Dooley said: “The NUJ has long advocated greater transparency and accountability in relation to all aspects of RTÉ, including executive renumeration. The Comptroller and Auditor General’s office could exercise an important role in building trust.  The PAC report is, however, just one part of the jigsaw and should be considered alongside the Corporate Governance report and the review on HR Culture and contracts.  At a practical level, I do not believe the reports need to be published simultaneously and if either is available in a timely fashion it should be considered by the Minister and put into the public domain.  

Many of the recommendations of the PAC deal with HR issues, including renumerations, and will inevitably feature in the HR Culture review.  Likewise, the recommendations on Corporate Governance will overlap with the report of the group chaired by Prof Niamh Brennan.  So many people have been tilling in the same field that it is difficult to keep track of developments.

While all of this work is valuable, RTÉ staff need to see progress on reform, alongside certainty regarding funding. Delays in the publication of other reports, such as the Future of Media Commission report, the epic delay in publishing the statutory review of defamation law and the long-awaited review of the Freedom of Information Act are worrying precedents and it is vital that recommendations are co-ordinated and considered.  Trade unions will consider the practical and contractual implications of the PAC report and looks forward to publication of the Expert Report.”

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