RTÉ will be brought under the control of State’s budgetary watchdog, minister confirms

RTÉ will be brought under the control of State’s budgetary watchdog, minister confirms

Media Minister Catherine Martin has confirmed that RTÉ will be brought under the control of the State’s budgetary watchdog.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Ms Martin said that she would be bringing forward legislative proposals to put RTÉ under the control of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG).

It comes as three reports into governance and accounting practices at RTÉ were published on Tuesday.

Bringing the State broadcaster under the remit of the C&AG would give greater powers to the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to scrutinise the accounts of RTÉ.

However, on implementing such legislative changes, Ms Martin admitted that “time is against me” and she could not give any guarantees that such changes would be made before the end of the Government’s term.

Ms Martin also said, following the acceptance of all recommendations by RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst and RTÉ board chair Terrence O’Rourke, she would work with Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe to release an initial €20m tranche of funding to the broadcaster.

She added that the remaining emergency funding would be contingent on RTÉ implementing recommendations from the expert advisory committees on governance and HR.

It comes as one of the three reviews raised serious concerns about how the RTÉ board operates. It recommended 90 changes to address governance and culture at the State broadcaster.

RTÉ should be required to disclose all categories of spending, a new funding model should be introduced, and the C&AG should be responsible for carrying out audits, the report has recommended.

The report into governance and culture was prepared by Professor Niamh Brennan – and a separate review of contractor fees, human resources and other matters was chaired by Brendan McGinty.

A third review, by Mazars, investigated the use of barter accounts by RTÉ.

For transparency purposes, the report into governance and culture states that RTÉ should “clearly document” its process of staff appointments, demonstrating compliance with legislative requirements.

The broadcaster should also disclose the number of staff appointments made each year and state whether people were appointed by public competition; under one of the three exceptions provided by the Broadcasting Act; or not made in accordance with the legislation, with a justification of why not.

The report has suggested that a “major review” is needed of legislation in terms of funding, governance, external audit and public service objects.

The 151-page review revealed that RTÉ’s board carried only out evaluations in 2018 and 2022, not on an annual basis, and these were self-assessed procedures.

‘Board self-assessed itself very positively’

“The Board self-assessed itself very positively, with an average score of 4.4 out of 5 in 2018. Board self-assessment and an average score of 4.0 out of 5 in the 2022 Board self-assessment,” the report states.

It has been recommended that RTÉ’s Board should obtain an external assessment every three years by a “reputable external service provider” to assess its effectiveness.

Other recommendations include:

• RTÉ should avoid using confidentiality/non-disclosure agreements that prevent accountability for the expenditure of taxpayers’ monies.
• RTÉ should maintain a centralised register of interest. All staff and contractors should be made aware of the circumstances under which they must make a disclosure of interests. This centralised register could be integrated into the Registers of Interests, Gifts and External Activities RTÉ are establishing.
• The Board should introduce a Board-approved Remuneration Policy consistent with RTÉ’s Purpose, Values, Strategy and Risk Appetite. This policy should cover the presenter remuneration. The policy should consider remuneration in the wider employee base when setting remuneration for Presenters. The Board should have full transparency of Executive and Presenter remuneration.
• The external auditor’s assurance report on RTÉ’s Top On-Air Talent Earnings (now Highest Paid Presenter Remuneration) should be more explicit and clearer on the work done to independently assure RTÉ’s Top On-Air Talent Earnings disclosures and should include confirmation of earnings received directly with the Top On-Air Talent themselves.
• To improve transparency, RTÉ should be required to disclose all categories of expenditure required by the State Code in its Annual Report and in the Chair’s annual Comprehensive Report to the Minister.
• The Board should conduct an annual skills assessment to identify skills gaps to both inform training and recruitment policy. RTÉ’s Chair should highlight skills gaps on RTÉ’s Board in the annual Comprehensive Report to the Minister.

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