Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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336. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht when NewERA was informed of the problems with the IT project at RTÉ; if he was informed of the issues around the IT project at RTÉ; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23131/25]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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NewERA provides commercial and financial advice to Ministers in respect of certain designated bodies under their aegis, including RTÉ in the case of myself as Minister with responsibility for Media.

One of the roles NewERA perform is to review the annual report and financial statements of the bodies concerned in respect of the previous year's accounts.

The 2020 financial statements, examined by NewEra in 2021, included an impairment provision but without any detail as to what it related to, and as such NewERA sought clarification from RTÉ. RTÉ advised NewERA that the 2020 impairment related to a renegotiation of the ERP project. In respect of the 2021 accounts, examined in 2022, they again queried an impairment and were advised that it related to the partial write-off of ERP costs.

NewERA prepares a report to the Minister each year on foot of its examination, and the reports to the Minister by NewERA for the 2020 and 2021 RTÉ accounts briefly noted the impairments.

As the Department has no role in the approval of capital projects in RTÉ, the Department only received detailed information on the project on foot of the request which issued in February this year to all bodies under the aegis of my Department.