A solicitor for former RTÉ director general Dee Forbes has said that she is not "fit or able" to engage with the Oireachtas Committee on Media.
In a short letter to the committee, her solicitor said that Ms Forbes is under "active medical care" and that "further medical information" to confirm that she is "unfit to participate in any processes at this time can be provided with the requirement that it is kept confidential".
On Friday 23 February, the committee wrote to Ms Forbes, requesting that she engage with members either in person, through written statement or via video link.
On foot of receiving the committee's letter, the solicitor "sought instructions" from their client.
Ms Forbes' solicitor stated in the letter to the committee that they were instructed that she is "unfit to be involved in any process even with the offer of video links/breaks/written evidence etc.".
"If you require sight of further medical information on a strictly confidential basis please let us know", they said.
Committee Chair Niamh Smyth expressed disappointment that Ms Forbes will not be able to engage with members.
She said that it meant that there would be "unfinished business", but added that the committee will proceed with completing its report.
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, committee member Senator Malcolm Byrne said it had been important to get "all the pieces of the jigsaw, to hear from everybody who may be able to enlighten us and Dee Forbes was critical to that."
Asked whether the report will therefore be an incomplete picture therefore, Senator Byrne said: "Dee Forbes was a central figure in all of the decisions going right back to the payments that were made to Ryan Tubridy, some of the decisions around 'Toy Show: The Musical', questions that we obviously want to ask around corporate governance and culture within the organisation.
"Those pieces of the jigsaw that could have been contributed by Dee Forbes, she's not in a position to do that, so we obviously have to take that into account in completing our report, but when somebody is ill, you have to respect that."
Two Government-commissioned reports into governance, culture and other matters at RTÉ are due to be finalised at the end of this month.
Following their completion, the Oireachtas Committee on Media intends on holding further public sessions with the expert groups that conducted those Government commissioned reports.
The committee will then finalise its own report.
Senator Byrne said the sense now was that things need to "move on" and his own view was that the Committee must give incumbent RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst "time, and judge him on result, .because there are big changes that are needed within RTÉ."
He said once the Committee reports, it must then look at how public service broadcasting is funded in future and in a "new media landscape, including the tech sector; what is the role for Irish content creators, including RTÉ".
