Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 February 2024
180. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she has had discussions with RTÉ on the findings of the recently published reports on the voluntary exit programmes and a production (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6719/24]
View answerI welcome the publication by RTÉ of the Grant Thornton report into Toy Show The Musical on 25 January 2024 and, in particular, the revised version which has now been published and which, following my request to the Chair for further transparency, identifies the majority of those individuals who engaged with Grant Thornton in relation to the report.
As I said at the time, the facts the report sets out are clearly disappointing and confirm what we already knew, that there were failings of proper oversight and an absence of interrogation of the project. I met with the Chair of the RTÉ Board on 23rd and 24th January to be briefed on the contents of the report in advance of its publication. At those meetings I conveyed to the Chair my deep concern regarding the contents of the report, and again sought assurances that steps had been taken to remedy these failings. I also requested that the greatest possible level of transparency consistent with due process and the rights of individuals, should apply to the report.
On 31 January, just prior to the publication of the McCann Fitzgerald report into the 2017 and 2021 voluntary exit programmes at RTÉ, I met with the Director-General to receive a briefing on what that review would set out. I expressed deep concern at the appalling disregard for the principles of equity, fairness and transparency in the treatment of staff which were evident in the findings.
While the report shows that proper approval procedures were agreed and were applied in most cases, there was one exception to this. That exception was the agreement which was reached by the then Director General with the former Chief Financial Officer, whose voluntary redundancy package was not approved in line with RTÉ's own agreed procedures. The current Director General has assured me that control and oversight reforms, introduced over the past number of months, will ensure that this will not happen again. The Director General also advised me at the meeting that RTÉ has written to the Revenue Commissioners regarding some issues which the report highlighted, and that engagement is ongoing.
As I stated previously, I have forwarded both reports to the two independent Expert Advisory Committees which were commissioned by Government and that are carrying out Reviews of Governance and Culture, and HR matters at RTÉ. They will help inform their work, which is nearing conclusion.
