Statement from the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media regarding RTÉ

The Committee calls on the Director General and Executive Board to RTÉ to publicly outline the extent and severity of the issues involved, and the remedial actions that it has taken and that it will take in order to restore and ensure transparency and accountability to those it serves.

To this end, the Committee plans to formally invite relevant personnel in RTÉ to appear before it next week in public session to give discuss relevant matters. The Committee expects the full cooperation of RTÉ during the course of its scrutiny of matters in respect of governance, policy, expenditure, and administration within the organisation.

The Committee is wholly dedicated to the pursuit of sustainable and resilient public service broadcasting structures. The Committee reiterates its belief that public service broadcasting is a key pillar of Ireland’s democracy. Transparency and accountability on the part of our public service broadcasters are, in this regard, fundamental.

The Committee wishes to note that RTÉ has played a significant role in this space, and wishes to support RTÉ in its rebuilding of public trust and in its delivery of a key public good. However, the Committee stands in complete opposition to what RTÉ has outlined as "a serious breach of trust with the public".

The Committee stands in solidarity with the staff base of RTÉ, who it understands must be outraged at recent revelations.