Plans to increase the scope of the external review into RTÉ will not delay its final report, the Media Minister has said.
Cabinet is this morning expected to sign off on the terms of reference for the review – which, it is now believed, will take between six to eight months.
Media Minister Catherine Martin yesterday discussed plans for a wider and more extensive review with the three party leaders and is putting them before Cabinet this morning.
The broadened scope comes after Minister Martin met with RTÉ staff in recent days.
Speaking on her way into Cabinet this morning, the Media Minister said the changes should not delay publication of the review’s findings.
“I don’t want to pre-empt the Cabinet discussions but what I am proposing doesn’t make it any longer than I had originally thought,” she said.
“What I’m proposing doesn’t make it any longer than I had originally thought.”
Plans to increase the scope of the external review into #RTÉ will not delay its final report - Media Minister.@Kearns_Aoife pic.twitter.com/6ILYLFmNSy
— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) July 4, 2023
Minister Martin will also tell her Cabinet colleagues about her plans in relation to appointing an auditor to review RTÉ’s finances.
“Under Section 109 of the Broadcasting Act, I do have powers there and I will be discussing my intention in relation to that with Cabinet colleagues,” she told reporters at Government Buildings.
Minister Martin said the review is all about rebuilding trust with staff and with the public and “making sure that we get the answers that are needed”.
“I have had extensive engagement with staff and their representatives and, like I said, there is a breach of trust here with the public but also with the staff,” she said.
“I see there is an opportunity here to rebuild that trust and create an environment and culture there so that is what this review, I hope, will examine.”
While the final report is expected to take six to eight months, there will be a number of interim reports delivered in the meantime and the Minister hopes the work can be concluded sooner.
Ministers are also awaiting a separate Grant Thornton report into €120,000 worth of planned payments to the presenter prior to 2020, which still remain unexplained.
