TRUST CANNOT BE restored in RTÉ without change being made in the national broadcaster, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said.
Speaking to reporters in Co Clare this morning, Varadkar said: “I think we need to see change in RTÉ, without change I don’t think trust can be restored.”
Varadkar said he spoke with Media Minister Catherine Martin yesterday and was filled in on her meeting with the incoming Director General of RTÉ, Kevin Bakhurst. He is due to start the job on Monday.
“I understand the new Director General, Kevin Bakhurst, is going to make some announcements on Monday in relation to changes to the organisation, the way the management is structured and also is going to deal with issues around conflicts of interest,” the Taoiseach said.
“Certainly, I’m very reassured with what he’s said to Government but it’s important, I think, that he be allowed to set out those plans on Monday, to talk to the staff first … and then to inform the wider nation about some of the changes he’s going to make and he’s going to make them quickly,” Varadkar said.
Trust in RTÉ cannot be restored without change within the national broadcaster, according to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) July 8, 2023
Speaking in Co Clare he also said that the TV licence is an outdated model and that it needs to change | Read more: https://t.co/xQm341wsQX pic.twitter.com/OrYWh9KqhW
A number of reviews and assessments are now taking place into practices at RTÉ following the secret payments scandal, including two independent reviews commissioned by the Government, a review to be done by a forensic accountant appointed by the Government, and another Grant Thornton review into the finances of the Toy Show musical on top of the two that the broadcaster has already commissioned.
Speaking yesterday following a meeting with Bakhurst, the secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), Seamus Dooley, said the new Director General has agreed to meet with staff “not just in Dublin but around the country” in an effort to rebuild trust.
Dooley said that though no timetable for these meetings has been set, it is a positive step forward.
“There was a firm commitment given to work with staff and unions to restore the faith and confidence of staff in RTÉ,” he said.
Dooley added that the union let Bakhurst know the depth of hurt feeling amongst staff in RTÉ, and that trust takes longer to rebuild than to break.
“He hasn’t outlined any further proposals in relation to the restructuring of the board, which we had been looking for, but there was generally a good atmosphere, [he was] very direct, and we would hope that we can do business,” he said.
He added that Bakhurst is aware that RTÉ pushed for staff reductions in 2019 when much of the controversial spending through the barter accounts was taking place, and that he said that he wants to see a return to “public service values” within the organisation.
Seamus Dooley said that the NUJ acknowledges that Bakhurst’s workload as incoming Director General has now increased considerably as a result of the reviews and audits taking place, and that this may impact his ability to meet with staff as a matter of first priority.
Varadkar also reiterated today that he will continue to pay the annual €160 TV licence.
“First of all, I hope people will still pay the TV licence, I certainly will, not just because it’s the law but because it funds so much valuable broadcasting, whether it’s the news, sport, Irish language programming, drama, children’s TV, the RTÉ archives,” the Taoiseach said.
“That’s the value in this and we shouldn’t lose sight in that and that’s why I’d encourage people to continue to pay the licence fee,” he said.
Varadkar, however, said that the TV licence system needs to be “overhauled”.
“It’s a really old fashioned way of collecting revenue based on ownership of TV, a device that many people just don’t have anymore, and of course, almost all the money goes to RTÉ even though there are many other bodies that are involved in public service broadcasting,” he said.
“I think the reform is long overdue and I want that to happen during this Government. I can see the political temptation to put it off for another Government or another Dáil but I don’t want to do that, I want to get it done and make sure that we have a new system up and running during the lifetime of this Government,” he added.
Minister Martin was asked on Thursday if she will continue to pay the licence fee.
“I’m not going to advise anyone. I think what I’m saying is we must remember the good of public service broadcasting,” she said.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Saturdays with Áine Kerr, former Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte said that Martin’s response was a “misstep”.
“Minister Martin should avail of the first opportunity to correct her misstep. For the Minister for Media to refuse, when asked to counsel the license payers if they should pay their license, to prevaricate on that fact is remarkable,” he said.
“She should take the first opportunity to correct it. The Taoiseach’s position was very equivocal as well.”
Earlier this week, Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said he would “encourage every household to pay because it’s important”.
He said the public service programming from RTÉ has served the public and “if people stop paying, we lose all that and that will be really harmful and bad for our country”.
“So we need to maintain the finance and all that’s good in RTÉ despite the revelations of the last two weeks,” he added.
With reporting by Christina Finn and Eimer McAuley
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