Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The scandal that has unfolded in RTÉ in recent weeks has left the people who fund the organisation extremely disappointed and angry. The sense of betrayal felt by the workers in RTÉ arising from this scandal must be recognised. At the ICTU conference today, an emergency motion was passed unanimously. This highlighted the serious concerns about the impact of this secret deal. The RTÉ trade unions went into negotiations with management in good faith. They were presented with verified financial statements and they now discover that vital information was withheld during the negotiations and the secret deal was not disclosed. For ordinary workers who are not paid hundreds of thousands of euro each year, this is frustrating and a betrayal. It is wrong; it is as simple as that.

Trade unions, those who engage in good faith in negotiations, should be presented with the full facts. The review into RTÉ must look at the impact that these dealings with the trade union group had on the negotiations. It must look at the impact on public service broadcasting. At its core, it must look at the vital principles RTÉ should uphold.

As a GAA member, I saw the scandal with GAAGO this year. GAA people and supporters expressed frustration at having to pay for games, especially the decision to make hurling, probably our greatest sport, pay for view because the company was trying to make money on the back of what should be proper public service broadcasting. That needs to be looked at as well.

An entire generation of Irish children watched "Bosco" and many other shows. The Minister will remember the saying, "'Knock knock, open wide, see what's on the other side", which is a real throwback to the importance of public sector broadcasting. In 2017, when these secret payments started, RTÉ senior management was considering stopping the development of children's broadcasting by the station. At the time, Bosco made a statement to The Journal, saying, "I don't trust the bosses in RTÉ". How right Bosco was.

See this speech in context