Minister Catherine Martin
The Key Points
Here’s a roundup of what you should know from tonight’s media committee hearing.
AFTER THREE HOURS of grilling from Oireachtas members, Minister Catherine Martin will be hoping to have closed the book on the events leading up to Siún Ní Raghallaigh’s resignation.
“It has been a rollercoaster but I hope we’re on the right road now,” Martin said as the meeting wrapped up.
The Minister again thanked the former chair for her work and said she is determined to move forward with RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst and the RTÉ board.
Much of tonight’s committee focused on building the timeline up to the Minister’s appearance on Prime Time last Thursday night when she failed to express confidence in Ní Raghallaigh – who subsequently resigned from her position as a result.
Key questions were also asked about the intentions behind the Minister’s actions.
The stand out revelation from tonight was that Ní Raghallaigh had already threatened to resign ahead of the Minister appearing on Prime Time.
We also learned that the Minister did not plan to ask Ní Raghallaigh to resign in the Friday morning meeting that never happened.
And on the issue of whether Martin went on Prime Time with the intention of forcing Ní Raghallaigh’s resignation, the Minister denied this entirely.
Martin repeated multiple times throughout the three hours that she simply wanted to be honest and transparent during the Prime Time interview and that she “tried in every possible way” to avoid saying that she did not have confidence in Ní Raghallaigh.
Right at the very end when things seemed to be wrapping up, chair of the media committee Fianna Fáil TD Niamh Smyth threw another small grenade into the mix with fresh questions about an exit package paid to former RTÉ executive, David Nally.
In response, Martin said that would be a matter for former Director General Dee Forbes and that it was another reason for Forbes to come before the Oireachtas Committee.
Other important information that we learned tonight:
The Minister said she will not have the two outstanding RTÉ reports until April and that a decision on the future funding model for RTÉ will not be made until these are received by Government. She hopes to bring a paper to Cabinet on a new funding model for RTÉ before the summer.
Martin hopes to appoint a full-time chairperson to the RTÉ board within a week.
The Minister said she continues to have trust in RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst.
When asked if she had a personal issue with the chair, Martin replied “absolutely not”. She said she has not spoken to Ní Raghallaigh since Wednesday last week and does not expect to speak to her again.
The Minister said she has been told by Bakhurst that Dee Forbes did not receive an exit package.
When asked if there are any other outstanding issues of concern with RTÉ the Minister said no, not currently.
The committee agreed to invite Ní Raghallaigh and former Secretary General of the Department of Media, Katherine Licken, to appear before it.
The letter and the resignation
In the most shocking revelation from tonight’s committee hearing, Martin told TDs and Senators that the former chair of the RTÉ board had indicated that she would resign last week ahead of the Prime Time interview if she received a letter from the Minister.
Martin told the committee that her confidence was further rocked last week when she was told by her officials that Ní Raghallaigh, had indicated she would not accept a letter from the Minister outlining her grievances, never mind a meeting request.
Martin said “when you reach the point where someone doesn’t even want to receive a letter from the Minister, that’s problematic”.
The Minister had relayed through her officials that she intended to write a letter to Ní Raghallaigh outlining her disappointment at being misinformed by her in relation to the RTÉ board’s involvement in exit packages at the broadcaster.
Former chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh Norma Burke
Norma Burke
Responding to questioning from Fianna Fáil TD Christopher O’Sullivan, Martin said Ní Raghallaigh indicated that she would resign if such a letter was sent.
“Later on as phone calls progressed in the day I had it indicated to her that not only would I write a letter but I wanted to meet.
“She indicated she felt she would not come to a meeting,” Martin told the committee.
The Minister said the comment was “so astounding” and she was hoping the former chair would agree to meet her.
“I couldn’t understand how someone would try and tell the Minister how to manage their work,” Martin said, adding that she hoped it was merely a “rash comment” from the chair.
Martin said she subsequently sent the letter, which she said did not call for Ní Raghallaigh’s resignation.
Looking ahead, it sadly does not seem as though tonight’s meeting has drawn the latest RTÉ controversy to a close.
With the committee agreeing to invite both Ní Raghallaigh and Licken to appear before it, there may be further grilling yet to come.
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