Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Turning to the staff at Raidió na Gaeltachta, RTÉ's response seems to suggest that we want to know what ordinary staff members earn. That is not the case. RTÉ knows full well that what we requested at that committee meeting was a review of the pay of cláraitheoirí in comparison with that of their Radio 1 counterparts. We made that abundantly clear.

They are trying to fudge or block the responses, but that was made abundantly clear. Ms Forbes, on the day, gave an undertaking to the committee to review the situation regarding the workers at Raidió na Gaeltachta and furnish us with the findings, yet this is the response that came back. Can we ask Ms Forbes if she is actually refusing to give us that information? Can the committee write to her to ask her if she is refusing to give that information?

I note the National Union of Journalists indicated the issue of retrospection in the Eversheds report remains ongoing. Can we also follow up on this matter with the NUJ, to see if it has had any input based on the communication to date with RTÉ?

Regarding RTÉ's payment to Revenue, it has to be highlighted again how the very fact that this payment was made had to be dragged out of RTÉ when it was before the committee. That has to be put on public record. RTÉ denied to me multiple times that the State could face a bill, full in the knowledge it had already reached a partial settlement. That is just not good enough. Now the organisation is maintaining its agreement with Revenue does not allow it to disclose how much the settlement is for. It is my understanding, and the Chairman can correct me if I am wrong, that any such settlements and the private nature of the amount settled are tools used by Revenue to encourage those found to owe them. Settlements are often not disclosed in the event of a settlement being reached out of court, for example. I cannot why the Revenue Commissioners would have any interest in this payment remaining secret, as RTÉ seem to want it to be, given the State-funded nature of RTÉ.

Can the committee write to the Revenue Commissioners, in a general sense, asking them in a situation whereby an agreement has been reached involving a voluntary qualifying disclosure, not requiring the details to be made publicly available, whether they would be opposed to a person or persons voluntarily and publicly disclosing the amounts they had paid to Revenue?