Results 3,261-3,280 of 3,444 for speaker:Shane Cassells

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: My recollection of that particular day is that not only was there no contrition from Mr. Lynch or Mr. Coveney about this multimillion euro disaster, but they were, in fact, bullish. They were bullish to the point of actually looking at all of us on the committee and saying: "You guys, in the previous autumn, had actually encouraged musicals. Sure we were only doing what you were asking us...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: Okay, that is fine.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: Mr. Lynch has said that, if asked, he would have interjected. He sat there as a person who, as an executive board member, had knowledge. He was aware of the issues pertaining to the show. As a senior executive board member, why did he not interject and offer that knowledge to the committee as the debate was evolving?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: Not only were the board members left in the dark, Mr. Lynch is telling me that he, as a senior executive member, was, in effect, in the dark as well.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: We will get to the audit and risk committee in a second. I am going back to January last year when Mr. Lynch definitely did know this goose was cooked. The day of that meeting, I met him and Mr. Coveney on the stairs before heading down to these rooms. Mr. Coveney made a joke about "going easy on us today". What strategy had Mr. Lynch and Mr. Coveney worked out going down those stairs,...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: It was a broad discussion on the future of public funding of public broadcasting.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: You knew it was going to coming up.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: Was there was no discussion prior to that meeting about what you would say or not say if it came up?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: After that meeting, did you discuss the issue with Mr. Coveney to say it was going to be a problem for you later down the road?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: On 10 January 2023, which was eight days before that meeting of the committee, there was an executive board meeting at which Mr. Coveney was looking at this musical, including the outturns, the options around it and doing a deep dive with regard to remounting and strategic questions around it. Does Mr. Lynch remember that meeting?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: Absolutely.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: Were you as confident as Mr. Coveney in terms of the success of this as a multi-annual production that we could see coming back and back again?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: Normally with a major theatrical production, there would be an agreement with the venue, such as the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre or wherever, whereby that venue would take a percentage, say 20%, of the seat sales. Was a similar deal done with the convention centre or was it given a flat flee and given payment for every seat in the house regardless of whether those seats were filled?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: Do any of the witnesses know the nature of the contract, that is, whether it was a flat-fee or percentage deal, the latter being the normal scenario with theatrical productions? Anybody? It seems nobody knows. My next question is for Mr. Bakhurst. Was Mr. Coveney made the fall guy for this fiasco because it could be said that he tried something and it did not work? In terms of a...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: What were the circumstances that led you to agree with that summation?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: Was there an exit package put in place for Mr. Coveney given that he resigned?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: I am not asking for the nature of a package. I am just asking for confirmation as to whether there was an exit package for Mr. Coveney considering that he resigned.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: In the context of the audit and risk process that was mentioned earlier, it is very much a case of people throwing each other under the bus when one reads the Grant Thornton report. Ms Doherty is quoted as saying that the audit and risk committee had an independent function and, if it wanted, it could have requested to look at the issue. Ms O'Leary clearly disagrees with that view.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: I appreciate that but the convention centre was not booked until 19 April. There was an opportunity, given that Ms O'Leary had not been presented with the risk analysis the people involved say they had conducted and which they say was ready on 1 March, to pull this.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: I know that but I am saying that the fact it was not provided should have given cause for alarm as to why it was not being provided to Ms O'Leary's committee.