Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)

I thank the witnesses for being here. It is undeniable that RTÉ has had significant problems in the past with treatment of employees, issues of pay parity, cultural issues, serious governance issues and the treatment of employees as contractors. This has cost RTÉ and the general public dearly in terms of public trust in an institution we all treasure. I encourage at today's session that what we want to see demonstrated is care: care for the witnesses as custodians of our national broadcaster, care for the employees in their employment and care for RTÉ's role as a public service broadcaster.

My first question is about Press Council affiliation. I will direct it at Mr. Bakhurst but he can delegate the question to whomever is the most relevant person to answer it. Given RTÉ's duties as the national broadcaster and the large amount of trust put into RTÉ as a news source, it is vital that RTÉ's editorial independence is protected as well as the quality of news it produces. In light of the fact that articles published on the RTÉ website are not regulated by the Broadcasting Act 2009, or by the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022, will RTÉ become a member publication of the Press Council which would ensure this is a mechanism for journalistic accountability for online reporting by RTÉ? Just to be clear, it was confirmed by the Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, that the Press Council could do this if RTÉ online became a member.