Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)

There is one important thing to point out here, which is that the Department has no role in the sanctioning of capital expenditure within RTÉ. I know the Deputy knows that. With regard to Professor Niamh Brennan, the Deputy's assessment has been quite unfair. I know him a long time and I know he will reflect on that. The work she did on RTÉ unearthed a serious culture that had failed the organisation, the employees, the licence payers and the Oireachtas, and has ultimately resulted in a situation where we now have a body of work under way in RTÉ that will transform it into a far smaller, slimmer and more efficient organisation that is fit for purpose and in which the public has trust. The person who really drove that, by virtue of the report, was Professor Niamh Brennan. That is why, culturally, I also have to get under the bonnet of the Arts Council because that impairment or loss of money was lurking around for a long time. The Deputy is absolutely right, and the whistle was not blown on it. Once I became aware of it, I dealt with it, and the person in this country who has the greatest level of experience in that area is heading it up for us.

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