Martin announces “root and branch” examination of RTÉ

Mike Finnerty 04 Jul 2023

Minister Catherine Martin has outlined the details of the planned review into RTÉ, and says that it is the job of the Government to rebuild the trust between RTÉ and the public.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Minister said the revelations of the last two weeks had been “shattering” and have been an “affront to everything that public service broadcasting is meant to stand for.”

“Public service broadcasting is too important to our democracy, our culture and our society to allow RTÉ to fail – trust must be restored.”

“RTÉ must restore the values and ideals on which it was founded. This can only be accomplished through a wide-ranging and comprehensive examination of the fundamental causes of the failures in RTÉ, one that also charts a clear path to prevent their recurrence.”

The Minister confirmed that Cabinet has approved her plans to launch an investigation into RTÉ, and said that “field-leading experts” would lead the review into the governance and culture at the state broadcaster.

Martin said she was commissioning two separate reports into the issues at RTÉ, and said “a robust corporate governance framework and an open, transparent and accountable culture are all fundamental to the success of any public service organisation – we have seen what can happen in their absence.”

The first review will explore the Governance and Culture within RTÉ, while the second will carry out a review of contractor fees, human resources and other matters at RTÉ.

Brendan McGinty, chairperson of the governing body at the National College of Ireland and Patricia King, former SIPTU vice-president and former Secretary General of ICTU are among the experts hired to the panel that will carry out the investigation into RTÉ.

Martin added she plans to meet with the new Director General of RTÉ and the Chair of the Board at the broadcaster this Friday, with the aim of the meeting exploring how RTÉ plan to cooperate with the investigation, and what immediate next steps can be taken to restore public trust in RTÉ.