Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

At the heart of this scandal in the highest echelons of RTÉ, what I find most astonishing is the absolute spectacular lack of curiosity that exists among various senior executives and departments, with the result that information was siloed and was purposely not communicated to the executive board, or rather not even requested by those who are in a position to oversee the payments. The chair of the board, Siún Ní Raghallaigh, has admitted that there is a problem with the culture in RTÉ and that the executive board was not functioning as an executive board should.

One example is that the former executive chair of the board between 2014 and 2022, Moya Doherty, did not even know of the existence of the barter account. At the Committee of Public Accounts last week, she described the revelations of the barter account as "staggering". What I also found staggering was that over the course of a year, the remuneration committee did not even meet. One of the more astonishing pieces of information, according to the interim deputy director general, Adrian Lynch, was that RTÉ underwrote the commercial deal with Renault by means of a verbal agreement with Dee Forbes. The agreement was never put in writing, which is extraordinary given there was a potential exposure for RTÉ of €75,000 per year over the course of a five-year term. Some €150,000 in payments to Ryan Tubridy were put through the barter account with anonymised invoices which stated "commercial fees". On Wednesday, the commercial director, Geraldine O'Leary, said she could not remember why it was framed that way. On Thursday, Siún Ní Raghallaigh, then described it as deception. I would describe it as fraud. Those sums matter.

If the bus that took the RTÉ clients from Drumcondra to Croke Park, which would have turned left on the North Circular Road, had turned right, it would have gone up to the Dóchas Centre, a prison where I know working-class women faced several hours or up to a day in prison for not paying the €160 licence fee. Those sums matter to people.

I also find the Minister's own lack of curiosity to be worth questioning further. Some 13 days into the affair, the chair of the RTÉ board revealed that Dee Forbes was asked to resign on day one, and admitted not telling the Minister about it during the crisis meeting that took place with her on day nine. I am also conscious that the Minister became aware that there was an issue in March. What exactly was the Minister made aware of in March? What exactly did she ask for further clarification on? We are three months down the road. I believe it is worth detailing to the Dáil exactly what she was told and what questions she did not ask at the time.

The vast majority of staff in RTÉ conduct themselves with integrity and dedicate much of their lives to public service broadcasting. This scandal is particularly harrowing for those journalists, crew members and staffers because they have been operating on the bare minimum, while being told there are no staff to bolster their efforts in different regions; there is no money for decent equipment, including chairs with a back that do not cause strain; and there are no resources for them or their team to carry out investigative journalism.

There are journalists working zero-hour contracts, trying to eke out a living in one of the most expensive cities in Europe, who are only now hearing that vast sums of money were being covertly funnelled to those at the top, who have been described as "the talent". RTÉ is a microcosm for Ireland. Those at the top continue to reap all that is sown, out of greed, while those below are denied the basic provisions to feel empowered in their work and life. Bogus self-employment contracts and unfair leave policies do not have a place in public organisations.

Those workers, who are taxpayers, have suffered most from this abomination. I express solidarity with all those workers and acknowledge their continued strength, integrity and dignity. One of the more satisfying aspects of this scandal was watching in recent weeks as those who make RTÉ what it is came to the fore together to hold the people at the top to account. There has been a complete failure to nurture ambitious young broadcasters, so fearful was RTÉ of losing what it had decided were "the talent". Now that the talent has removed itself, RTÉ is no lesser for it. I hope that experience is remembered long into the future. Public broadcasting is worth fighting for. In this Chamber and in Irish society, we need to hold those who make decisions to account. I welcome the Minister's review. I hope it will be expedited and that we hold those people to account.

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