Ms Si?n N? Raghallaigh:

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach agus leis na baill as an deis labhairt leo. At the outset, I reiterate our profound regret regarding what has emerged in recent days. RTÉ fell far short of the standards expected of us as an organisation. I apologise for this egregious breach of trust with the public.

I am also mindful that this committee, and others, were in the past presented with information that was simply untrue. That was a breach of trust with the elected Members of the Oireachtas, for which we sincerely apologise. The public, RTÉ staff, and public representatives are angry and hurt. We know that our bond of trust with the public is tarnished. We know that trust is precious and, once lost, is difficult to regain. Step by step, we will work to rebuild that trust. We will not flinch in this regard. We know that this will be challenging but we are committing to doing so in order that confidence in Ireland’s national public service broadcaster can be restored. We are committed to providing the committee with as much detail as possible and we wish to be as open and frank as we can.

As members know, and as set out in our statement last week, in late March of this year during a routine audit of RTÉ’s 2022 accounts, an issue was identified in relation to the transparency of certain payments. The auditors sought further information and informed the audit and risk committee of the RTÉ board of their concerns. The audit and risk committee promptly commissioned Grant Thornton to carry out the independent fact-finding review on the matter in question. The facts were established by Grant Thornton and presented to the audit and risk committee of the RTÉ board on Friday, 16 June 2023, and then to the RTÉ board the following Monday, 19 June.

On receiving the Grant Thornton findings, the board asked RTÉ to conduct an internal review of earnings paid to Mr. Tubridy in previous years. Through that review, it was identified that Mr. Tubridy’s remuneration had been understated by RTÉ by a figure of €120,000 over the contract period 2017 to 2019. To be clear, this was understated in the figures that were published by RTÉ relating to the top ten highest earning on-air presenters, which in turn were communicated to the Government, the Oireachtas and the public. Mr. Tubridy’s earnings were correctly accounted for in the RTÉ accounts and the earnings he received were what he was contractually entitled to. In addition, for the record, I confirm that he did not receive an exit fee.

The circumstances that led to this understatement by RTÉ are currently under examination by a second Grant Thornton review and the findings of that review are expected within four weeks. Why this figure was understated, and by whom, is a question we as a board are also very anxious to know the answer to. Within four days of the first Grant Thornton review being received by the RTÉ board on Monday,19 June, the board released a statement outlining our understanding of Mr. Tubridy’s earnings, including for the period 2017 to 2019. The issue has remained under active review and, yesterday, RTÉ issued a further statement detailing its understanding of what happened, how it happened, and who was responsible for different aspects of the arrangement. The full Grant Thornton fact-finding review was also published yesterday.

Separately, we will, of course, work closely with all aspects of the Government-appointed, independent, external review process when it commences. I also wish at this point to acknowledge the upset and distress being caused to the independent production sector in Ireland, a community I know well. Its wellbeing is very much contingent on the wellbeing of RTÉ also. As I have said previously, RTÉ is an organisation of more than 1,800 people. I apologise to each and every one of them for the distress they are experiencing as they deal with the shadow that has fallen over this organisation.

I assure this committee and the public that the board is committed to ensuring that we get full clarity on this, that there is accountability for it, and that it never happens again. Mar fhocal scoir, ba mhaith liom a rá go ndéanfaimid ár ndícheall ceisteanna uilig na mball a a fhreagairt. As public representatives, you deserve nothing less.