Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sorry I missed some of the session. I had a meeting I could not avoid with a group. I welcome the Minister. I was here for her opening address. I am very circumspect about the whole situation. The public is aghast. I sympathise totally with the very good workers in RTÉ - hundreds of them are doing their best all the time. This is a shocking scandal and we cannot question the director general. The boards - I am very careful when I say "boards" - sought that resignation and put it beyond our reach in the committee. Following up on Deputy Griffin's point, in the first meeting we had with the group from RTÉ, what I learned from that day was that it spent €1.4 million, I think, on settling with Revenue. It answered some of the questions. It said it had probably four times that much, which would go to €5 million or €6 million. Everyone running a company, including me - I am involved in a company - has to be upfront with Revenue. If we did anything like this, we would not have the luxury of having a fund put away to settle wrongdoing we did with Revenue. Revenue would be on top of us and so would the Criminal Assets Bureau, CAB and the fraud squad. The sheriffs would be calling - they would get their cut out of it too. It is happening to businesses every day of every week, unfortunately, especially since the downturn in the economy and now since Covid again. Why is RTÉ being treated like a sacred cow? Deputy Martin is the Minister in charge. At the very start - the Chair knows my views - I asked for the fraud squad to go in. We are not prepared - I speak for myself - we are not equipped to ask. We could not listen to them anyway, we were not getting answers. They could not understand my language. That is fair enough. They got away with that one. In plain, straight, simple language, how can RTÉ have a contingency fund put away of up to €6 million, as I garnered from that first meeting, to make settlements with Revenue? There have already been settlements.

The treatment of staff there is another question. A few years ago a lady was forced off a programme because she was 65. I found out when I asked questions of Dee Forbes and Ms Carney that day that it had made a court settlement with somebody else for unfair dismissal - a female. That is shocking carry-on when males were getting extensions up to 70 years. What the hell is going on in there? I do not see how we can give them another shilling or euro until such a time as there is accountability, answers and honesty. We are not getting honesty or the truth. I do not know what answers the Minister gave earlier but from what I heard of her address, she was going to give RTÉ interim funding. It should not get a penny. Imagine putting away up to €6 million for anticipated settlements for wrong, bogus employment.

If I did that in my company, or anybody else did, we would be prosecuted. This sacred cow cannot be allowed to do this and I would like to hear the Minister's response.