Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

First, I want to acknowledge the absolute devastation across Cork and Waterford due to flooding yesterday. My thoughts are with homeowners and to people working in tourism and hospitality businesses in the region. I know the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Heather Humphreys, has activated the humanitarian assistance scheme which will give assistance to householders affected by flooding. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Simon Coveney, has committed to working with the local councils, including Cork County Council, to assess the damage and respond quickly with financial supports for businesses.

On Deputy Munster's question, on 4 July last, following the revelations of governance failings in RTÉ and with the agreement of my Government colleagues, I announced the commissioning of an examination of RTÉ composed of two separate and parallel reviews and an examination of the RTÉ barter account by a forensic accountant. The two separate reviews are a review of governance and culture that is being overseen by an expert advisory committee led by Professor Niamh Brennan and a review of contractor, HR and other matters led by Mr. Brendan McGinty.

The work of both committees is being supported by a professional services firm, Crowe Advisory Ireland, which was appointed following two separate procurement processes undertaken by my Department with the assistance of the Office of Government Procurement. The committees are also supported by a secretariat comprised of officials from my Department.

I understand that under the direction of the expert advisory committees, the two reviews are making good progress. I have been informed that both expert advisory committees have undertaken an information gathering and analysis phase based on their terms of reference and are now in the process of engaging with key stakeholders. They have also met with the Chair and director general as well as sub-committees of the board which have been set up for the purposes of engaging with the respective expert advisory committees for the reviews.

As I originally set out when I announced the reviews, due to the complexity and breadth of issues to be reviewed, I expect that they will take six months to complete. Accordingly, I expect to receive the reports from the expert advisory committees early in the New Year.

These two independent reviews are a central component in identifying the corporate governance, cultural and other operational issues at RTÉ that have led to the current crisis and in addressing them to ensure that trust can be restored in our largest public service broadcaster. Given the complexity of the issues involved, it is important that we give them the time to do so.

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