Heads should roll in RTÉ over the Toy Show musical debacle, Newstalk Breakfast host Ciara Kelly has said.
A report into the €2.3 million box office flop suggests the broadcaster transferred €75,000 in TV advertising money to ‘sponsorship’ of the show.
The report found ‘no evidence’ that the RTÉ Board gave the live event the go-ahead in the first place – although it notes that there is a “diversity of views” on the matter.
Ciara said she had hoped for some answers but there were none.
"We have no names, we have numbers like 'Person One' and 'Person Six', we have five people still on the RTÉ Board who were there when all of this took place," she said.
"To think that the people who are supposed to be steering the ship in RTÉ said, 'What could we do? They'd already booked the venues?'
"To this day, you can still be sent to jail for not paying the paltry sum that is the TV licence.
"That can still happen, even though I know it rarely does.
"Yet we don't even have any accountability around the squandering of almost €2.3m of taxpayers money on this.
"I'm a real believer in public service broadcasting; I do believe people should pay the licence fee - but for the first time I understand why somebody wouldn't want to.
"I don't think there is accountability here and I think it's deeply disappointing.
"Personally speaking, I think we have enough answers; I'd like to see some heads roll on this".
'Can't have it both ways'
Host Shane Coleman said he thought the report was a comprehensive one.
"There's not too many companies that would have a report like that for people to pour over," he said.
"The people involved are going to be dragged before the Oireachtas committee, they're going to have a particularly unpleasant couple of days.
"All those board members who are remaining from that time will be gone in a year's time.
"If they go, they will not appear before the Oireachtas committee, so we can't have it both ways," he added.
In a statement, RTÉ Board Chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh has apologised to the public and staff at RTÉ and said the board is fully focused on restoring confidence in the organisation.
