Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that revelations at the Public Accounts Committee yesterday about RTÉ’s barter account were “a matter of real concern”, and suggested that accounting rules and company law may have been breached at the station.
He also said that in future RTÉ may have to account differently for its public funds and its commercial revenues – suggesting a deep reorganisation of the broadcaster may be on the cards. He said that RTÉ received commercial revenues and licence fee income from the public, “and that all goes into the one pot – and I’m not sure that’s going to be appropriate going forward.”
He said that the Government would proceed with the appointment of “someone who understands corporate governance, understands accounting, understands how organisations should be run and should not be run” to examine the situation at RTÉ and “put things right”. This is understood to be Prof Niamh Brennan from UCD.
The committee will meet in private at 10.30am, with committee chairwoman Niamh Smyth TD set to put down a proposal that the two men be invited in. Speaking on Friday morning, Fianna Fáil TD Ms Smyth said that “after considerable debate over two committees it is now incumbent on the voices outside the room to come in and share their side of the series of events which led to secret payments to Ryan Tubridy”.Sinn Féin TD Imelda Munster said yesterday’s PAC meeting revealed individuals at the top in RTÉ acted as they saw fit in a culture that was “completely devoid of any oversight or governance”.