Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 21 September 2021

Public Accounts Committee

Business of Committee

11:00 am

Photo of Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

One of the first items in the reply dealt with complaints of defamation or libel. We were told we could not be provided with particular information because it would include amounts involved with individual settlements. It would actually be quite useful for us to get even a global figure for 2010 until now. That would not have the same impact. That is not RTÉ's fault because defamation laws require urgently to be changed. Every media outlet has a particular issue with the current defamation laws. Perhaps if we got that figure back, we could follow through to the Department to seek a change.

On the matter of the Revenue audit, Eversheds did a two-year look-back in the report it conducted. I am sure Revenue will not be limited by that because I think some of the staff who had a change in their employment status, those who became employees as opposed to contractors, would have flagged up this issue for some considerable time. A Revenue audit will be dictated by Revenue. It will decide the parameters as opposed to the entity being audited. I suspect Revenue will go back further than Eversheds did. Revenue will dictate that. The important thing is that if Revenue does not provide that report, if the amount of €1.2 million changes, we will see that in the RTÉ accounts. It would be beneficial if we were to be provided with the Revenue audit when it is to hand.