Laois TD highlights lack of controls at RTÉ as report into Ryan Tubridy payments published

The Dáil Committee of Public Accounts (PAC) chaired by Laois TD Brian Stanley has recommended that the Government makes RTÉ accountable for public money to the State's spending watchdog.

By making the broadcaster report to the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG0, Dep Stanley and his colleagues say RTÉ will become accountable to the Committee which can examine, and report to Dáil Éireann, on the annual accounts of designated public bodies following audit by the C&AG.

In its report published today on the Examination of the appropriation of public money to RTÉ, and its expenditure of same, PAC also recommends that RTÉ implements, without delay, a register of gifts, and reports to the Committee on its register of interests and its register of outside activities for staff at RTÉ.

Dep Stanley summarised what's in the report and what he and other politicians have concluded after meeting with RTÉ management and former staff including Ryan Tubridy.

“This report sets out an overview of the evidence considered, the key issues identified during the examination, which give rise to the conclusions, observations and recommendations of the Committee.

“Based on the evidence before it, the Committee believes that decisions taken by RTÉ demonstrate a lack of rigorous financial controls, poor communication, little transparency and amount to a failure of governance which combined have damaged public trust in an organisation for which trust should be paramount,” he said.

A statement from his Committee said the Dáil passed a motion on 28 June 2023 permitting the PAC to examine RTÉ expenditure, and commercial arrangements entered into by the broadcaster and its presenters from 2017 to date, which have impacted on, and relate to, the expenditure of public moneys.

The new report on is an examination of a significant volume of correspondence, three public meetings with RTÉ and one public meeting with Ryan Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly.

The report makes 21 recommendations on six issues examined by the Committee.

These concern:

• Underwriting of additional payments to Mr. Ryan Tubridy as part of the presenter’s 2020-2025;
• Significant understatement by RTÉ of Mr. Tubridy’s published earnings from 2017 to 2019;
• The use of a barter account by RTÉ outside of regular financial controls;
• Executive pay, allowances and exit packages at RTÉ;
• Significant financial loss on Toy Show The Musical, and lack of financial scrutiny of the project by the RTÉ Executive Board;
• Matters of current expenditure at RTÉ, including costs arising from Eversheds Sutherland report and estimated loss of TV Licence revenue.

The key recommendations made by the Committee are that:

• The Government brings RTÉ back under the statutory remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General;
• RTÉ ensures that no side deals (commercial or otherwise), akin to that agreed in Mr. Tubridy’s 2020-2025 contract, are undertaken in relation to contracts for employees or contractors going forward;
• RTÉ introduces a written policy in relation to negotiations with presenters and their representatives;
• RTÉ develops a policy for its staff in relation to promotional work, and use of social media, and that RTÉ reports back to the Committee on this matter in June 2024;
• RTÉ publishes the salary received by members of staff at the broadcaster earning more than €150,000 per annum in its financial statements; and the exact amounts paid out to former members of staff, earning more than €150,000 upon their departure from the broadcaster, are also included in the financial statements;
• RTÉ ensures that the terms of any future severance agreements with staff do not contain any confidentiality clauses and include a clause that the former employee cooperate with any internal or external inquiries or investigations, including Oireachtas Committees;
• The Audit and Risk Committee at RTÉ is sufficiently equipped to ensure it can effectively monitor and audit internally, report within RTÉ, and that it can make recommendations to improve financial controls at the broadcaster;
• RTÉ provides the Committee with an update in June 2024 on the investigation by the Department of Social Protection into the historic PRSI classification of workers at RTÉ, and any revisions to the estimated liability to the Department, including any settlements made to it, and that RTÉ keeps the Committee informed of any further settlements.

Deputy Stanley added: “This is a concise report given the breadth of the discussion and related correspondence, and I recommend reading the report and its recommendations in full. The Committee is committed to ensuring that the recommendations in the report are acted upon and implemented.”

The PAC report Examination of the appropriation of public moneys to RTÉ, and its expenditure of same is available on the Oireachtas website.

The Committee of Public Accounts is a standing committee of Dáil Éireann which focuses on ensuring public services are run efficiently and achieve value for money. Further information on the role and remit of the Committee can be found here.