Minister for Media Catherine Martin has said that the current RTÉ Board should remain in place "for now" to facilitate the day-to-day functioning of the organisation, following yesterday's Grant Thornton report into Toy Show The Musical.
In a statement this morning, Ms Martin said the report "highlights serious failings in governance oversight, financial management and appropriate control procedures in relation to this project".
A report into Toy Show The Musical found that the recording of the show's sponsorship money was "not in line with generally accepted accounting practices".
Although the report does not reveal any names, several of the Board members who were interviewed admitted that more questions should have been asked about the project, with five members of that board still in place.
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The report stated that it found no evidence in the minutes of meetings of the Board of RTÉ recording the approval of Toy Show the Musical whether by way of the outcome of a vote, or a consensus reached.
Some directors said they did not receive documentation in advance of meetings and that oral presentations about the musical were presented as a "fait accompli" or as a "briefing".
It makes reference to a 'Combo Meeting' where a selection of directors, external consultants and some member of the RTÉ Executive discussed Toy Show the Musical. However, the report notes that this was not a meeting of the Board of Directors of RTÉ.
Ms Martin said this morning the report was "further evidence of what appeared to have been a dysfunctional relationship between the Executive and the Board in RTÉ at that time".
She said that while the report related to a single project, it will feed into independent expert reviews - commissioned last July - examining wider issues at RTÉ, including corporate governance and the culture within the organisation.
Ms Martin said that she did not want to pre-empt the findings of those reviews, and noted that there had been a change in the rigour of governance oversight at the broadcaster.
It was important that there was continued accountability to the Oireachtas, Ms Martin said, via the Oireachtas Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media, and the Public Accounts Committee.
The RTÉ Board is a body made up of 12 people that make policy for the broadcaster, while the Executive Board is a committee composed of senior management responsible for its day-to-day running.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Ms Martin said the report made for "grim reading" and highlights "very serious failings" in governance oversight in financial management.
"There seems to be a clear awareness of risks to be considered but for some reason there was a focus on the softer risk, on the damage to the brand, rather than musicals as a really big gamble, how competitive the Christmas season is with established events, that RTÉ's expertise lies in broadcasting and not in live events," Ms Martin said.
She said it also shows that information which the board should have expected was not provided, and in some cases information was changed.
"Approval was never on the agenda," she added.
She explained the reasons why board members should stay in place and said she has confidence in those working on the board now.
"I believe accountability is key in this," she said, adding that Oireachtas committees have done invaluable work in this regard.
She said the decision is being made also because she believes "it is in the best interests" that the board members remain in place as RTÉ is at a critical time in relation to its reform and rebuilding public trust.
Ms Martin said RTÉ is editorially independent and for her, as minister, it is "inappropriate to interfere with operational matters."
She said she wants to get "the exact full picture of this and that's why I'm waiting ... to judge it in the round.
"I need those expert reports, which will arrive at the end of February and will be brought to Cabinet. And they actually will be the only reports in since this crisis emerged that will have solid recommendations".
RTÉ funding decision
Minister Martin also said she would like to see the Government make a decision in terms of the future funding of RTÉ before the summer.
She said that she would also like to see necessary legislation to underpin that funding model enacted before the end of the Government's term.
She reiterated her belief that direct exchequer funding should be considered, although her coalition colleagues have expressed reservations around such a funding model.
'Confidence in the capacity of this board'
The Tánaiste said that while the report uncovered significant lapses of governance at RTÉ, he also believed the broadcaster's board should remain in place.
Micheál Martin said he believed further instability would be to the detriment of the public interest.
He also expressed confidence in the RTÉ Board to deliver change at the broadcaster, including how the station is governed.
Speaking this morning in Cork, Mr Martin said there are two further reports due on the running of RTÉ, and the findings of those reports should be awaited.
He said they would allow the Minister for Media to take a more measured and informed view of the entire controversy at RTÉ and she could take action from there.
He told RTÉ News: "I do have confidence in the capacity of this board to get the strategy through.
"The chairperson has made it clear that she has confidence in the board, that she feels the board is working very well with the new executive and I think things are moving for the better in RTÉ.
"I do not believe now is the time for further instability. I think it [RTÉ] has been rocked to the core as a station and there is even further danger of further instability which, I think, would be to the detriment of the public interest.
"There were significant lapses of governance -- of that there is no doubt -- in respect of the entire Toy Show The Musical, and a significant loss of revenue to RTÉ."
Mr Martin said he wanted to see the next two reports due on governance at RTÉ before he reaches conclusions.
"RTÉ has been through a lot on instability in the last while. It's an important public service broadcaster in the country," he said.
"My belief now is that, yes, by all means people should go before the Committee that is responsible for media and, no doubt, the Public Accounts Committee will want to have hearings as well, but there is also a need for stability and cohesion right now in respect of RTÉ.
"There is a need for some balance and some stability right now in the affairs of RTÉ. There has been a lot happened in the last 12 months which has shaken the organisation to the core and, in my view, its a wise course of action to steady it and to allow the various reports to conclude."
Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohue said he agreed with Ms Martin that the RTÉ board should remain in place for now.
He said he believes further change would be "counterproductive" and "inconsistent" as the organisation tries to deliver changes.
"There is a very valuable change and reform agenda that needs to be implemented now in RTÉ. We need to fix issues that we are now well aware of but also need to build on and deliver the potential that the RTÉ organisation clearly as well."
Read more:
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Meanwhile, Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy said that RTÉ will be asked back before the Public Accounts Committee in relation to the issues highlighted in the report.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland Ms Murphy, who is deputy chair of the PAC, said that the report which was published yesterday "damning".
"It does make depressing reading in relation to the governance that would be the key issue that comes out of that report for me," she said.
"And that's the kind of issue that the Public Accounts Committee would be keen to interrogate further."
She said she "would expect" that RTÉ will be back before the PAC.
Ms Murphy also said that there are key questions around who governs RTÉ into the future.
"If you're going to have confidence, I think one of the key questions that we will be asking people who come in in front of us is who exactly was on that subgroup and why the board itself allowed a subgroup to make this decision.
"Why there were no minutes. Why there was no record of a decision.
"All of those kind of things they would be key questions that we'll ask and for people to identify themselves."
Last night, RTÉ Board Chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh said that the board was happy to attend Oireachtas committees to discuss the findings set out in the Grant Thornton Report into Toy Show The Musical.
She has also expressed confidence in members of the current RTÉ Board who sat on the board when corporate governance failings occurred in relation to the Musical.
"These board members were there at the time, but I have every confidence in them.
"I want to assure everyone of the work that we have been doing to make sure that something like this never happens again, and I think we have done that," she said.
Additional reporting: Paschal Sheehy
