What has made the RTÉ payments debacle a national scandal is not the amounts at stake. It is the explosive cocktail of obfuscation and funds that are ultimately owned by and owed to the public.
The immediate issue, serious as it is, should not be allowed to distract from the decades-long neglect of all governments to ever properly establish a form of public-service media appropriate to the needs of contemporary Ireland.
The questioning got more pointed for the second appearance by RTÉ executives and board members past and present in as many days. One remarkable absence continued to hang over proceedings.
Under the glare of a second day of questioning, RTÉ's long-running practice of using an off-balance-sheet account for commercial purposes is tripping the station up. This is what we know so far about the mechanism of the account.
The Oireachtas Media Committee quizzed RTÉ representatives all afternoon in the first of two sessions planned in response to revelations of hidden payments to Ryan Tubridy. There was light shed on some of the many dark areas surrounding the scandal but not all.
RTÉ interim director general Adrian Lynch says what occurred was a “breach of trust,” but there was “no illegality.” RTÉ also says Ryan Tubridy did nothing wrong.
RTÉ has made public the initial forensic accountants’ report into top-up payments to Ryan Tubridy, detailing the complex steps taken to keep them hidden, and the facts that can't be recalled.
Grant Thornton will investigate payments to top RTÉ presenters going back to 2008, including the statement by resigned director general Dee Forbes that she didn’t know about pre-2020 hidden fees to Ryan Tubridy.
By suspending its top executive, the board of RTÉ has confirmed that she is at the centre of ongoing investigations.
When RTÉ staff were facing pay cuts, slashed allowances and voluntary redundancies, the broadcaster's most highly paid presenter was getting secret salary top-ups. The trade unions have called this a "breach of trust" and are looking for answers.
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