An interim report from accountants Grant Thornton has concluded that the remuneration figures for RTÉ's ten highest paid on-air presenters was correctly stated publicly, and properly accounted for by RTÉ, during the period 2008 to 2022 inclusive - with the exception of what had been identified in the first report.
The review was commissioned by the RTÉ Board, after a previous Grant Thornton report had uncovered the non-disclosure of payments to Ryan Tubridy's agent Noel Kelly via RTÉ's barter account.
In this second report, albeit an interim one, the accountancy firm concludes that RTÉ had correctly stated the figures over the 15-year period, with the exception of what had been identified in the first report.
The interim report was furnished to the Audit and Risk Committee of the RTÉ Board on Tuesday, and its findings have been shared with members of the Public Accounts Committee which is meeting RTÉ Executives and Board Members.
The second Grant Thornton interim report states that work is ongoing regarding the 2008-2009 period - given the historical nature of those records.
RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst will tell the Public Accounts Committee that the non-disclosure of payments by RTÉ has created "one of the most shameful and damaging episodes in the organisation's history".
In his opening statement, Mr Bakhurst says while investigations are under way some things are beyond dispute: "RTÉ should not be brokering or facilitating commercial arrangements with its contractors. The level of fees in contracts of this nature are too high."
"The public were misled, as were you as public representatives. That is completely unacceptable. I want to assure you that lessons have been learned, and actions are being taken."
He added that the contractual arrangements for Mr Tubridy, the public misstatements of his remuneration, and other subsequent discoveries "remains a source of frustration to the public, to the RTÉ Board, to the elected representatives who have engaged on this issue, and to staff within RTÉ".
Mr Bakhurst will tell TDs that RTÉ "should have operated with greater transparency, and should have applied much higher standards of honesty and integrity in terms of its public statements".
He said he has instructed all divisions in RTÉ that they are "to give the fullest co-operation possible with these investigations, and with Committee queries."
He concludes: "I am absolutely determined to implement the change and reform which will help us draw a line under this shameful period in RTÉ's history and to rebuilding trust in public service broadcasting."
RTÉ Board Chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh will tell the committee that the new Director General is "in a few short days steadying the ship of RTÉ by taking swift action on a range of important matters, from leadership reform to the introduction of a register and more".
She said she particularly welcomed his commitment to ongoing staff engagement.
Ms Ní Raghallaigh said Mr Bakhurst was "facing up to the issues of the past and the lamentable failures that have emerged".
She says: "As Chair I am committed to being as open and transparent as possible and to placing facts in the public domain at the earliest opportunity. That is what I am doing here today."
In addition to Mr Bakhurst and Ms Ní Raghallaigh, a number of members of RTÉ's interim leadership team are due to appear before the committee.
They include Acting Deputy Director General Adrian Lynch, Director of Legal Paula Mullooly, Group Head of Sport Declan McBennett, Finance Director Richard Collins, Former Director General Noel Curran via video link and Head of Strategy and Commercial Compliance Conor Mullen.
Staff representative on the Board Robert Shortt will also attend.
Mazars appointed by Govt to examine RTÉ accounts
Mazars has been appointed by the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media as the forensic accountancy service to examine the accounts of RTÉ.
Catherine Martin is making the appointment under Section 109 of the Broadcasting Act, which enables her to appoint a person to examine the books or other financial records of RTÉ.
The department said that the accountancy firm will initially look into the organisation's barter account through which payments, which were not publicly declared by RTÉ, were made to broadcaster Ryan Tubridy.
It will also examine any other off-balance sheet accounts.
However, if the need arises the scope of Mazars' inquiries can be expanded further by the minister.
"The appointment of Mazars as forensic accountants is a very important step in getting to the facts in RTÉ and shedding further light on the issues which have surfaced in recent weeks," said the minister.
The move follows the earlier appointment of two expert advisory committees by the minister and it is expected that the forensic accountant will collaborate and share findings with these committees.
One committee is to look into the governance and culture of the organisation, while the other is to examine contractor fees, human resources and other matters.
The minister said this evening that Stephen Smith is to join the Expert Advisory Committee on Governance and Culture.
Mr Smith is a chartered accountant with over 25 years' experience of working at board level as an executive, non-executive, adviser and auditor with major public, private and charitable sector organisations.
He will join the previously announced committee members, who are chair Professor Niamh Brennan, Professor of Management at University College Dublin, and Dr Margaret Cullen, governance adviser to the Institute of Directors in Ireland.
While the minister also said that Liam Kelly is to join the Expert Advisory Committee on Contractor Fees, Human Resources and other matters.
Mr Kelly is a career civil servant and former Director General of the Workplace Relations Commission.
The other members of that committee who had previously been announced are chair Brendan McGinty who is a leading expert in people strategy and employee relation, as well as Patricia King, a former General Secretary of ICTU.
"These expert committees will oversee the independent root and branch examination which will play a key role in restoring trust in RTÉ," the minister said.
The department said the committee memberships are now complete and Minister Martin hopes to meet with them early next week.
The procurement of advisory services to support the reviews is currently out to tender and the department said they are expected to start work in August.
