Media Minister urged to take dramatic action and sack entire RTÉ board

The Media Minister will face calls at a crunch meeting on Friday to sack the entire RTÉ board and appoint a new one she can ‘fully trust’ after the dramatic fallout with the chair of the board.

There has been a major fracturing of the relationship between the board and Catherine Martin in the wake of her de-facto sacking of former chair, Siún Ní Raghallaigh, on television last week.

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A defiant Minister Martin insisted in the Dáil on Wednesday that she was going to ‘grasp the nettle’ on the series of crises at RTÉ, after repeatedly being accused of being ‘missing in action’ throughout the now nine-month period of unfolding controversies at the national broadcaster.

Siún Ní Raghallaigh. Pic: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

However, Cabinet sources told EVOKE’s sister paper the Irish Daily Mail last night they believe the minister needs to ‘sack them all’ in a bid to take back control and appoint a board she can ‘fully trust’.

Minister Martin was told in the Dáil that instead of bringing a period of stability to RTÉ, she threw ‘a grenade’ at the situation, with the chair of the RTÉ board leaving on Friday last. Ms Martin said on RTÉ’s Prime Time last Thursday she was misinformed by Ms Ní Raghallaigh twice in meetings over the sign-off and approval of substantial exit packages last year.

And after failing to express confidence in her on the live programme, the RTÉ chair tendered her resignation just before 1am on Friday morning. The remaining board members held an emergency meeting on Friday, where they were widely expected in Government circles to resign en masse, but opted to remain in situ, citing the need for stability, a view supported by the director general, Kevin Bakhurst.

Kevin Bakhurst after a meeting with Media Minister Catherine Martin. Pic: Fran Veale

But one Cabinet source said: ‘She should have gotten rid of them before this, but with a new chair about to be appointed it provides her with the opportunity to fill the board with fresh faces she can trust. It’s clear that she cannot trust at least some of those on the board and they threw their weight behind Siún last week.’

Fianna Fáil Senator and Oireachtas Media Committee member Micheál Carrigy told the Mail that ‘a new brush sweeps clean’ and that a new board is needed alongside the appointment of a new chair. ‘I think you need a whole new structure there, it would have been always my view to get confidence back in from the general public. People need to see a new set of people, with a new set of skills to take the organisation forward to where it needs to go,’ he said.

Catherine Martin pictured arriving to the Oireachtas committee in Leinster house on February 27. Pic: Collins Photos

Fianna Fáil Senator Timmy Dooley told the Mail that it would be ‘hard’ for Ms Martin not to act given the controversies the board presided over, including the €2.2million loss-making Toy Show The Musical. He said: ‘It’s hard for her to justify retaining the board who on most of their watch this [series of controversies] happened and sacking Siún for a relatively minor issue.

‘If you look at the real substance of what happened, this was a minor issue and I can see how it might have slipped her mind. I think it makes her look very isolated while standing over people remaining on the board, given it was on their watch that some controversies happened, like Toy Show The Musical.

Toy Show: The Musical. Pic: Ste Murray

‘I’m not making the call for them to go but it beggars belief that the minister thinks they should stay given their stated failures, the fact they have admitted as much and said they could have done better, they should have asked more questions,’ he said.

This Mail understands that Cabinet will be asked to approve a new chair of the board when it meets on Tuesday. The two frontrunners are believed to be Brian McCraith, who spearheaded the Covid19 vaccine rollout and chaired the Future of Media committee, and former chair of the Arts Council , Kevin Rafter. Ms Martin said the board will have a rotating chair until we have a full-time chair in place.

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