Cash-strapped | 

RTÉ broke its own rules with golden handshake – and now another manager gets exit deal

Exits of chief financial officers Breda O’Keeffe and Richard Collins shrouded in secrecy

RTÉ broke its own rules with golden handshake – and now another manager gets exit deal – SundayWorld.com

RTE boss Kevin Bakhurst under pressure to provide key document to TDs on Ryan Tubridy pay scandal

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Cash-strapped RTÉ broke its own rules to pay a sizeable golden handshake to a former executive – and has now made another exit deal with a senior manager.

Any payments made to former RTÉ chief financial officers Breda O’Keeffe and Richard Collins continue to be shrouded in secrecy by the crisis-hit broadcaster.

RTÉ bosses now admit the station will be insolvent by early next year if a bailout is not provided by the Government.

Television licence fees continue to fall, with two out of every five householders now refusing to pay. But TDs have warned that the organisation is doing further damage with its failure to make documents publicly available.

In another bruising appearance before an Oireachtas committee, payouts to the two former most senior accountants in the broadcaster came under scrutiny.

Ms O’Keeffe’s redundancy was not approved by the board of RTÉ and she was replaced by Mr Collins so there was no direct saving.

RTÉ’s director of human resources Eimear Cusack said savings of up to 80pc were required on each role under the redundancy scheme.

“Cost savings were achieved, not directly through the appointment of a new CFO, no,” she said.

An investigation is now under way into the redundancy programme, particularly looking into sizeable packages given to staff who were then replaced.

RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst was asked if the option of claiming back some payments would be explored.

“What I have asked of the review is to set out the facts and once we have the facts, we will look at all of the options available to us,” he said.

Mr Collins left the organisation this week. A key figure in the RTÉ payments scandal, he was left off the interim leadership team by Mr Bakhurst.

Mr Bakhurst came under repeated questioning yesterday about the terms of departure for Mr Collins. The director general said he could not go into detail on the resignation of Mr Collins, for legal reasons. But pressed further, he said his resignation was “professional” and said the broadcaster has not been served with any legal papers from Mr Collins.

“There was an agreement reached and his legal team were present,” he said.

TDs on the Dáil Public Accounts Committee said the public would draw their own conclusions from the lack of clarity on the issue.

Mr Bakhurst’s appearance saw terse exchanges with members of the committee.

The director general was warned his position will not be tenable if RTÉ does not hand over a key document at the centre of the Ryan Tubridy payments scandal. Mr Bakhurst came under pressure from TDs to hand over the note, which has been repeatedly requested by the committee.

RTÉ has claimed it has been given legal advice which restricts it from giving the PAC a note of a meeting between Ryan Tubridy, his agent Noel Kelly and former RTÉ director general Dee Forbes.

It is the meeting at which RTÉ agreed to underwrite a commercial deal between Tubridy and Renault, which led to RTÉ paying the former Late Late Show presenter €150,000 that was not declared publicly.

The PAC has threatened to compel RTÉ to hand over the document. The Dáil’s public spending watchdog chairman, Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley, told Mr Bakhurst the PAC had received legal advice which suggested the document could be released.

In response, Mr Bakhurst asked the PAC to share that legal advice with RTÉ. Labour Party TD Alan Kelly criticised the RTÉ director general for being too “confrontational” in his response to the PAC. Mr Kelly said that this was not a “two-way relationship,” and that RTÉ was not entitled to ask to see legal advice given to the PAC.

“I’m telling you this: if it ends up in a scenario where we have to compel this, it could end up legal, it could end up in the courts and your position won’t be tenable,” said Mr Kelly.

Mr Bakhurst told TDs that RTÉ is spending a “painful” quarter of a million euro a month on ongoing reports into issues and controversies at the broadcaster.

Three separate professional services firms – Mazars, Grant Thornton and McCann FitzGerald – are currently carrying out reviews into different controversies and concerns at RTÉ. This is along with separate independent reviews ordered by the Government.

New guidelines will ban RTÉ presenters from filming themselves on the broadcaster’s property, for the purposes of outside commercial deals.

The broadcaster has come under pressure to be stricter on the commercial deals that its stars get into with outside brands.

Mr Bakhurst said RTÉ is updating its guidelines. Presenters will not be able to make videos on RTÉ premises if they are for commercial reasons.

In July, 2FM presenter and Dancing With The Stars winner Lottie Ryan was spoken to by bosses after filming a promotional advert for a car company on the public service broadcaster’s campus, without any permission.