Martin says RTÉ board should remain in place “for now” following Toy Show Musical report

Minister Catherine Martin said that the RTÉ Board should remain in place “for now” to oversee the day-to-day functioning of the organisation, following the publication of the Grant Thornton report into Toy Show The Musical.

In a statement released on Friday morning, Martin said the report into Toy Show The Musical “highlights serious failings in governance oversight, financial management and appropriate control procedures in relation to this project.”

The report found that the sponsorship of the flop show was “not in line with generally accepted accounting practices,” and that RTÉ had grossly overstated the commercial prospects of the show.

“It is further evidence of what appears to have been a dysfunctional relationship between the Executive and the Board in RTÉ at that time,” she said.

She stated that the report is part of the wider context of the dysfunction that has gripped RTÉ in recent years, and when the Government-comissioned review into RTÉ governance is completed board members will be expected to appear before the Oireachtas.

“These reviews are examining wider issues at RTÉ, including corporate governance and the culture within the organisation.  I expect to receive these reports at the end of next month. They will give much-needed clarity on what went wrong at RTÉ in the past; and their recommendations will inform continued efforts to reform RTÉ and restore much-needed trust in the national broadcaster.”

Licence fee renewals dropped by 13% last year in the wake of the scandals that hit RTÉ last summer, leaving the state broadcaster with a revenue gap of €20 million.

“I have given this matter serious deliberation and have discussed it with the Coalition Leaders. My priority, and that of the Government, is to ensure that the public interest is at the core of any decisions made in relation to RTÉ and public service media – a fundamental part of our society and democracy.”

“Whilst I do not wish to pre-empt the findings and final conclusions of the independent expert reviews, I believe that, for now, the current Board should remain in place to facilitate the proper day to day functioning of the organisation, to ensure the continuation of the process of reform and restoration of trust; and to enable ongoing accountability to, and scrutiny by, the Oireachtas.”

She said that the RTÉ board staying in place will provide “much-needed stability for RTÉ at a critical time”, noting that they are preparing their strategy for the rest of the decade.

In November, proposed job cuts at RTÉ were criticised by the National Union of Journalists, and news that RTÉ would look to commission more independent productions instead of developing programming in-house was also met with a negative reaction.

The former chair of the RTÉ Board Moya Doherty said that Toy Show the Musical was a “risk worth taking.”

In July, in the wake of the Ryan Tubridy scandal, evidence given to the Oireachtas Committee on Media confirmed the Toy Show The Musical lost €2.2 million, with 11,000 tickets sold for the shows held in the National Convention Centre.