Results 6,861-6,880 of 7,961 for speaker:Imelda Munster
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Jul 2023)
Imelda Munster: There were two barter companies up until the end of 2021 and then a third.
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Jul 2023)
Imelda Munster: What was the nature of that?
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Jul 2023)
Imelda Munster: Were each of those three companies on the barter account all paid the 35% handling fees?
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Jul 2023)
Imelda Munster: What would the cost to RTÉ would be at the end of each year if all three separate companies were going into the one barter account, with each paying a 35% fee on every single transaction? Each of those paying are 35% fees on every single transaction. That is some money.
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Jul 2023)
Imelda Munster: So we would have paid an additional €600,000.
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Jul 2023)
Imelda Munster: That is 35% in handling fees which amounted to €600,000. What would be the standard handling fee on average going through RTÉ’s barter account? Speaking to different people, I have yet to come across someone who said that they have ever heard of a 35% handling fee. It is not the norm, is it?
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Jul 2023)
Imelda Munster: It is15%. So we are paying 20% over and above the standard fees-----
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Jul 2023)
Imelda Munster: ----- so we are paying double and more.
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Jul 2023)
Imelda Munster: But RTÉ is handing over one third of it back.
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Jul 2023)
Imelda Munster: Yes, but the point is that the average handling fees would be 15% but here we are paying 35% handling fees which is over double the cost of the average of such fees.
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Jul 2023)
Imelda Munster: Yes, but it would not be extra for much longer if we keep paying those sort of fees. Who actually wrote the explanatory note on the barter account furnished to the committee today?
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Jul 2023)
Imelda Munster: That was Ms O’Leary-----
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Jul 2023)
Imelda Munster: I read through it and I thought that RTÉ is showing utter contempt for this committee. If one reads through it, it states that the barter accounts: ...are used by RTÉsolelyin the context of [its] commercial activity of selling advertising airtime. A barter account may be used for the purpose of hospitality and entertainment in relation to advertising clients/media agencies to...
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Jul 2023)
Imelda Munster: Am I incorrect in what I have said?
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Jul 2023)
Imelda Munster: So that this was just a once-off is some sort of an excuse for funnelling secret top-up payments through a barter account. RTÉ had the cheek to have this drawn up when it is an absolute lie, when RTÉ has a record of raising false invoices and of funnelling through a barter account in an effort to conceal top-up payments.
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Jul 2023)
Imelda Munster: That is to explain what it is if one is doing the right thing, if there is good governance and proper oversight. This sneaky and underhand deal that was done was designed to deceive, as the Chairperson has said, and was done through this barter account under Ms O’Leary’s watch and supervision.
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Jul 2023)
Imelda Munster: Yes, right, give it a rest will you, for goodness sake?
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Jul 2023)
Imelda Munster: Ms O’Leary raised the invoices under the heading of consultancy fees knowing full well that they were payment for Ryan Tubridy. Is that correct?
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Jul 2023)
Imelda Munster: It does not matter as Ms O’Leary knew that those payments were for Ryan Tubridy and she raised those invoices and put them through under the heading of consultancy fees which is false accountancy, whether she looks at it that way or not. Ms O’Leary then sent in that statement today in the full knowledge that there was no oversight and that she did what she did-----
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Jul 2023)
Imelda Munster: ----- and she insulted this committee by sending in the explanatory note on barter accounts. If only she had done it the way it was supposed to be done, then perhaps we would not be here. I want to raise the issue of the Renault deal. Again, it appears to me that extreme lengths were gone to in order to pay Ryan Tubridy the first €75,000. I am aware that we ended up paying three...