Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 July 2023
70. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she can confirm if the 345,000 in additional payments were included in the aggregate pay bill reported in the financial statements as stipulated by the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34770/23]
View answerUnder section 110 of the Broadcasting Act 2009 RTÉ is required to present their Annual Report in respect of the preceding year to the Minister by the 30th of June. Under section 109 of the Broadcasting Act 2009 RTÉ is required to present a copy of its audited accounts to the Board of RTÉ and the Minister no later than 6 months after the end of the financial year, which is the 30th of June.
On the 30th of June RTÉ presented its Annual Report and its Group Financial Statements 2022 to my Department. As required by section 109 of the Broadcasting Act 2009, the 2022 Financial Statements have been audited by auditors appointed by the Board of RTÉ. At our meeting on 24 June, the Chair of the RTÉ Board clarified to me that previous annual audited Financial Statements submitted to Government were correct.
Officials from my Department and NewERA are currently examining the Report and Financial Statements, in advance of them being considered by Government and laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas in accordance with the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies.
The Grant Thornton Report into the understatement of remuneration in the period 2020 to 2022 was published by RTÉ on 27 June. I note that referred to two payments made through the RTÉ barter account.
The Board of RTÉ have commissioned a further report from Grant Thornton Report into the understatement of remuneration totalling €120,000 between the years 2017 and 2019, which should also assist in clarifying these matters.
To deal with the underlying corporate governance issues which gave rise to the understatement of remuneration, on Tuesday last week the Government agreed to proposals I brought forward to initiate a root and branch examination of RTÉ comprising two elements:
• an independent review to examine the governance structures and organisational culture of RTÉ overseen by an Expert Governance Advisory Committee; and,
• an independent review to examine the mechanisms by which external contractors are engaged, the fees paid, the use of agents, and other HR matters in RTÉ, overseen by an Expert Advisory Committee on Contractor Fees and HR matters
I announced yesterday, the third members of each of the two Expert Advisory Committees that will oversee this work and I expect to meet the two Committees shortly.
In addition, I am exercising powers under Section 109(7)(a) of the Broadcasting Act to appoint a forensic accountant who will focus in the first instance on the barter accounts and any other off-balance sheet accounts that may be identified. The procurement process for this has now been finalised and I have appointed Mazars to undertake this work. I expect that Mazars will commence this work immediately.
