Ms Moya Doherty:

I thank the Chair and Deputies.

I thank the committee for the opportunity to make an opening statement. RTÉ, for me and for many years, has been a constant in my life not merely as a source of information and debate on key national issues of culture and identity, but in my case as a place where I learned my creative skills and built a career. So embedded is RTÉ in my psyche that when the details of this crisis began to unfold it left me both professionally and personally bewildered and devastated.

As former chair I am horrified by the extent of operations of which the board and I had no knowledge. We did not know because we were never told. However, let me say that there were endless opportunities for the relevant executives to bring matters of concern to my attention, and have open conversations with me. I met executives in formal and informal situations regularly. I was available to meet in person or on the phone at anytime. A deliberate decision was taken not to inform the board of these issues. This should not have happened. What has come to light in the past few weeks confirms unacceptable behaviour and, like many others, there are questions to which I am looking forward to hearing comprehensive and detailed answers. The latest revelations suggest that unfortunately more questions will arise as the crisis deepens. My sincere hope is that the Minister's reviews can restore RTÉ to the levels of civic leadership and responsibility, which a public service media organisation ought to, and has to, represent.