DEVASTATION | 

Family tragedy of under-fire RTÉ finance chief Richard Collins

Richard Collins, who is chief financial officer at the embattled broadcaster, lost his wife Lynda when she was killed while walking home during a storm

Today at 10:20

• 2011

One of the key figures at the centre of the RTÉ payments crisis is privately nursing a tragedy that struck his family in relatively recent years.

Richard Collins, who is chief financial officer at the embattled broadcaster, lost his wife Lynda when she was killed while walking home during a storm in February 2011.

Lynda Collins died instantly when she was struck by a falling chestnut tree while crossing Waterloo Road in Dublin 4 during high winds, just days before her 46th birthday.

Following her death, Mr Collins said the death of his wife had been a “one in a million chance” and had left him and their three children devastated.

They were aged 14, 13 and seven at the time.

Mrs Collins was the daughter of former Fine Gael TD, government chief whip and Dublin lord mayor Fergus O’Brien.

She grew up in Ranelagh and attended Trinity College Dublin. She and her husband met while working as accountants in KPMG and had been together for 21 years.

The couple worked in eastern Europe and in the UK before settling in Booterstown, south Dublin.

Following the tragedy, Mr Collins said his wife was noted for her desire to help other people and had volunteered for both the Barrett Cheshire homes and the Society of St Vincent de Paul while a student in Trinity College.

In recent years she had done an “unbelievable job” in looking after the couple’s youngest daughter, who had epilepsy.

At the time, Mr Collins said he would not have been able to become finance director of Superquinn without his wife’s support.

“Our plan was to pay off our mortgage and then have a much easier life in our 50s together. My job has been very demanding and I wish I had spent more time with my family,” he said at the time.

He added: “The support people have given us has been brilliant. It is great to hear that people care. If nobody said anything it would be a very lonely place for us.”

Mr Collins went on to take on his job at RTÉ after the tragedy.

In recent weeks, he was criticised after telling the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting that he did not know his “exact salary”.

Collins was asked by Sinn Féin TD John Brady how much he is paid as RTÉ CFO.

“I think that’s a private matter,” he responded after a moment of hesitation, before adding: “I think we’re going to disclose our earnings.”

After being pressed to answer by committee chair Brian Stanley, Collins eventually admitted: “I don’t know what my exact salary is off the top of my head.”

Fianna Fáil TD James O’Connor to state: “That’s absolutely outrageous. Chief financial officer of RTÉ can’t tell us what he’s paid.”

Collins then said he believed his salary is around €200,000, with an added car allowance of €25,000.