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LAST UPDATE | 7 Jul 2023
If RTÉ has traditionally been weak in home-produced drama, it has certainly made up the deficit in the last few weeks.
The drama at RTÉ since the revelations that senior management sought to conceal the accurate remuneration of its top earner has riveted public and media attention alike. Where else can you go to see Mattie McGrath TD starring opposite Verona Murphy TD?
It would be funny if it were not so serious. Ultimately our democracy will pay the price for the controversy at RTÉ and for the manner and pace of its prosecution. In a world of ‘fake news’ and ‘alternative facts’, citizens – now more than ever – need to be able to trust their public service broadcaster as an influential player in the public discourse.
RTÉ does many things very well, other things not so well. If one is dissatisfied as a licence payer with RTÉ’s output, worse is to come unless someone gets a grip on the current runaway crisis.
How many inquiries are necessary to establish why the public was misled about the remuneration of its top earner? Two Oireachtas inquiries, two reviews and one forensic excavation by an accountant seem deliberate overkill.
Nor is the self-flagellation at RTÉ helping matters. Entering its third week the controversy continues to dominate although the planet is overheating, warlords in Russia may be targeting a nuclear power plant and, potentially, there is an existential threat to the cervical check programme.
It is not difficult to understand why workers at RTÉ on modest to reasonable incomes are incandescent over the behaviour of the officer class over a long period. Other critics revelling in the broadcaster’s humiliation are not so well motivated.
They are milking the controversy for all it is worth and right now it is great value as a feeble management struggle to staunch the wounds. When the carcass is picked over what will we be left with?
Some of the behaviour at the top of RTÉ cannot be defended. However, it is not clear why it should attract the attention of not one but two competing Oireachtas committees.
Some members of the committees have acquitted themselves well but the grandstanding of others has added nothing but embarrassment.
The overcooked indignation of some ministers encourages the hanging public climate–something they may yet live to regret. Minister for Media and Arts Catherine Martin’s reported refusal to advise householders to pay their licence fee is remarkable.
That serving politicians should nurse a grievance real or imagined against RTÉ for one reason or another should not be surprising. RTÉ would not otherwise be doing its job. However, we have largely abandoned the Reithian principles, “to inform, educate and entertain”.
The ‘gotcha’ principle is now too frequently in evidence as some interlocutors in political interviews seem determined to demonstrate superior knowledge to the Minister. But this is no excuse for sitting back while the broadcaster fatally damages itself.
An element, therefore, of schadenfreude may be unavoidable. But if we believe the high-minded rhetoric about how our democracy is conditioned by the quality of our public broadcasting, ministers should be wary of unleashing forces like we occasionally glimpsed at the Oireachtas committees.
The UK Conservative government has been intent for some time now on squeezing the BBC. The pusillanimity of its treatment of the Brexit referendum was due, I have no doubt, to government hostility and the result has been disastrous for these islands.
The BBC is the exemplar of the proposition that public service broadcasting is a public good. I have learned more from the BBC than I ever did at university.
Provided that the runaway horse at RTÉ is reined in, some good can come of this. Reform is now unavoidable and that includes the funding model long-fingered for years. It was my intention as Minister in 2014 to implement a premises-based public service broadcasting charge but that was derailed by the water charges imbroglio.
A decade later the funding issue, notwithstanding accelerating technological change, remains calculatedly untouched. Meanwhile, as the current controversy has revealed, those at the top of RTÉ have been driven to unwise and imprudent ad hoc decision-making that now threatens the future of the broadcaster.
The government appears content to continue to sit on its hands while the controversy throws up further fripperies that may not amount to a hill of beans in themselves but cumulatively are enough to undermine the broadcaster. There is now an opportunity for the RTÉ unions to cooperate with the board and the new DG in cleaning out the Augean stables as well as forcing the government to put its grudges aside and place the national public service broadcaster on a stable footing to meet the future.
The longer this saga runs, the more damage will be done to RTÉ’s reputation. The drip-drip of minor transgressions will further erode public trust.
In the blizzard of revelations about flip-flops and match tickets, we still don’t know who gave the guarantee, sanctioned payment and resolved to conceal the transaction in respect of Ryan Tubridy or why he acquiesced in the deceit.
Frankly, I don’t care whether or not Marty Morrissey was wearing flip-flops when driving his gifted car. Any competent management should have rules for that kind of thing and should ensure they are transparent and observed. What matters now is the future of public service broadcasting and we are now in danger, with multiple inquiries and a government content to enjoy the spectacle, of being diverted into punitively addressing the symptoms as distinct from the cause of the malaise.
Pat Rabbitte is the former leader of the Labour Party and former Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications of Ireland.
I despair!
The Republic of Opportunities seems to be leaving the most vulnerable citizens behind.
@Jarlath Murphy: get Donald to call leo
@GoodByeMaryLooHelloSue: Just a thought, but perhaps it may be an idea to show the American media what Ireland is really like, while Leo is there to answer questions.
@GoodByeMaryLooHelloSue: Why would our Taoiseach need a call from an external source to do their duty to our citizens?
Is he not up to the task?
@Jarlath Murphy: sarcasm eludes you.
@GoodByeMaryLooHelloSue: Given the gravitas of the article I apologise if I do not share your sense of humour!
@Jarlath Murphy: poor shinnerbot, do you wake up in the middle of the night screaming about Leo? PMSL
@frank murphy: Poor you, never gave SF a first preference in my life, how does it feel to support the unforgivable, by deflecting to the opposition? Are you so devoid of any human feeling?
@Boyne Sharky: American media would wonder why the family didn’t have to remortgage the house to pay. Its a silly comparison to have been made. Poor little guy.
@Jarlath Murphy: they will be killing them before they are born soon
@Dave O Keeffe: actually Medicaid covers equipment in the US or other such publicly funded medical systems. Insurance can do too if the parents have it.
They would be quicker buying one ..Even if the organised a little fundraiser to pay for it .They shouldn’t have to but at least the child would have his chair .
@scientia: and I would say you would not have heard about this if they the parents had the money to spend on the wheelchair. And yet money can be spent on paddy’s days junkets to TDs and councillors and you call the parent pathetic…. Ok.
@stefanovich: troll FO
@stefanovich: So when you had/have children I presume you did or will budget for a wheelchair costing thousands of euro as well as the nappies and babygros? I highly doubt the parent a foresaw their little boy needing a specialised paediatric mobility aid when they had him. FFS
@Caren Dempsey: Too right Caren. Unreal comment from stefanovich..
@James Gorman: HSE not that bad ?,You think this is a once off situation ? It’s always like this for every child waiting for equipment and always has been. The only difference here is the parents got politicians involved and went public. The “more than meets the eye “is the ignorance displayed by the general public of an ongoing situation that affects our disabled kids. This is just the norm and these parents are new to the system and are just reeling at the reality of it. It’s been like this under various governments through boom and bust. This is just the norm.
OMG, how can Richard Bruton justify denying this child a wheelchair because of some lunatic list system of priorities, give him his wheelchair now, I am speechless that this situation is tolerated , and to think our government are hobnobbing it up around the globe while a little boy crawls on the floor.
@scientia: I was thinking this myself, while I think it’s inexcusable that this situation has been allowed develop, if it were my child I would move mountains to provide a wheelchair from my own resources. It’s very easy to sit there giving out while doing nothing to remedy the situation, in the end they are responsible for their children’s welfare, so get it done, get that child a wheelchair and then scream from the rooftops that the system is so dysfunctional that you had to obtain one yourself because the state dropped the ball.
@Emachine: The wheelchair will cos thousands the professional involvement of an OT and Physio in relation to the chair will also be high and extremely expensive. The repair and maintence of the chair will be expensive and has to be done locally. You can’t send the chair off somewhere everything it needs a screw or maintence. This chair will be custom made and the child will soon outgrow it and the whole process starts again . If the family were to try fundraise privately it would have to be ongoing and a constant strain and may mean they would have to provide ramps and house alterations themselves too.
The Taoiseach is too concerned with his coloured socks or spending thousands on his PR machine to address the real issues at hand like Ireland’s disgraceful health service.
This is what your vote for Fine Gael and Fianna Fail gets you, you lot must be beaming with pride when you read about stories like this.
@Eddie O’Neill: out of curiosity, who should we vote for?
@Eddie O’Neill: who in their right mind would be beaming with pride with stories like this ? Talk about over dramatics ..
@Ohhh_reeally: well FF and FG have been in power since the foundation of the state so anyone other than them I guess?
@Eddie O’Neill:
Stupid comment
@Shane Carroll: I suppose you’re right. We could go with Wallace, Daly, Sinn Fein, Paul Murphy. Lots of good options there
Keep the recovery going! Grr
can we donate to buy this little lad his wheelchair?
@Floyd Ofthemoon: this kind of thing really gets to me , charlie flannagen brought in i think 40 refugees at a cost of 300.000 each one ,and when it comes to giving a child a wheelchair it takes forever to sort things out ,
@Floyd Ofthemoon: They have to be custom made for him though. You can’t just buy off the peg. It depends on his physical needs
@Catherine Sims: my point is they have unlimited ammounts of money when it comes to looking after everyone else, this kind of bull with paper work just does my head in ,
My sons wait for 18 months when he was younger . Thankfully he is fully mobile now again. 18 months seems to be the average for a lot of equipment that has to be customized. That said my son’s chair for school was a bit quicker than that.
@Catherine Sims:
It’s good to here your son is now mobile, i appreciate how difficult it is looking after loved ones needs and applying to the HSE for assistance albeit my case was with an elderly person rather than a child and that must be so much more difficult. How long did it take to get the wheelchair approved as opposed to actually getting the chair
@Nick Allen: My son was disabled from birth and so was in the system immediately. Like all kids we used prams and buggies but it got to a stage when he was too big for normal buggies and it was safe nor providing support. The OT and physio assessed him and it was really a foregone conclusion he was approved but we did wait 18 months for the chair to actually arrive. It was a but of a joke amongst parents that the kids had almost outgrown the chairs before they got them. They were adjustable though and my son’s chair in school has been ok for years for him. The second time he needed a wheelchair it was a sudden emergency ( although I had been beating a path to doctors and pediatricians saying he was limping for 4 months with no one listening ) . I took him to a&,e out if desperation and the orthos found the problem immediately. It was fixable with surgery and he was in a wheelchair for only a few months. That chair we got immediately as it was just a regular one. The day or two in between I hired one from the IWA. He was a big lad at that stage so the normal wheelchair was fine.
@Catherine Sims: great to hear everything worked out for your son ,what does the OT mean in your comments?
@Floyd Ofthemoon: OT is an Occupational Therapist .
@Catherine Sims:
As a parent I really do empathize you, that must be so so difficult. I hope your son is doing well. My dealings with the system have been somewhat limited but recently I have unfortunately had to deal with both my parents developing dementia. I found that it is quite challenging to get the process up and running and to get my parent’s approved as dementia patients. However, once the bureaucracy was overcome, the HSE have proved to be excellent and really efficient. At every juncture the people I dealt with were excellent. I suppose that once people are registered in the system they are going to be a significant cost burden for a long time so I understand why there are some hoops to jump through. That said, they should prioritize some cases a little more
@Nick Allen: I’m glad things are looking up for you at a pretty horrific time. My mother had dementia and we didn’t seek help from the HSE. I looked after her myself. I cared for my father too when he became ill but it got too much after nearly 5 years and I had to cope with my son’s medical issues too. What I found was the HSE were great if I pushed for stuff for my father. I had to push but at least it was there. I found there was no support for my son though. Never had respite or anything like that. I enjoy his company though. Hes funny and sweet so we are ok.
@Nick Allen: Stupid comment Nick!
@Nick Allen: fairplay to you Nick for looking after your parents i know it can be tough , treasure them while u still have them.
@Catherine Sims: jesus i am seeing a whole new side to you , your not as bad as i thought
@Floyd Ofthemoon: Er……. Thanks ???
@Nick Allen: Nick I empathise with your difficulties but I think the provision of these services should be a given as opposed to something which proud people struggle to seek help with.
We seem to be able to find funds for all manner of stuff yet struggle with the most obvious?
@Nick Allen: If you get a chance look up the documentary “Alive inside”. It’s shows the fantastic improvements in dementia patients after they gave been listening to music from their youth. Try do up a playlist of your parents favourite music from their youth and put it on an mp3 or iPod and watch the effect. I’ve done up my own dementia playlist just in case after seeing that documentary.
@Floyd Ofthemoon:
It’s a nightmare to be honest but you are right, you just have to do it. Obviously there are different people in different towns etc but the help in my local area was in general very very good. I felt my parents were looked after and the people involved are all so dedicated.
@Catherine Sims:
Thanks, I will try that. My Mum loves music so it is a very apt suggestion.
@Eddie O’Neill:
How original
@Nick Allen: It was good enough for you though?
@Eddie O’Neill:
It was, but it was original when I used it. Also, your comment was stupid. You were suggesting that FG supporters are happy this kid doesn’t have a wheelchair. I don’t think any supporter of any political party would be happy about that, that’s why I said your comment was stupid. Why are you saying mine is?
@Jarlath Murphy:
My experience is that we do provide the funds (eventually), it is just it takes too long and is a different process to navigate. Dare I say it, a little more efficiency and accountability within our civil service would help matters
Give the boy a wheelchair. Simple as.
THERE’S A LIST???? There should not be any lists for things like this. He needs it, he gets it. No list.
@Martin Byrne: He is just one child in a long list and this is the system for all of them. Everyone waits and it’s always been like this.
Disgraceful for a family to have to endure this while at the same time Leo issuing invitations to US President to visit here . The security costs of this one visit would buy hundreds of wheelchairs for those on the list
People should be ashamed of themselves commenting on this article blaming the parents when they have zero idea of how the system works or how much these things cost, or, clearly, any clue what it’s like to parent a child with a disability. The lack of compassion and basic human decency I’ve read this morning is appalling, what the hell is wrong with people?
This just infuriates me, We where in the same position last year, applied for a wheelchair for my daughter in Jan of last year we didn’t receive it till the week before Xmas. She had to do with a chair which was too small and uncomfortable and because she has CP it caused her pain when she was in her old chair. Our health system is failing the most vulnerable in our society in more ways than one. Our government need a wake up call. I really hope this poor child gets their wheelchair soon.
Maybe Simon’s could have a chat with his wife Caoimhe she might be able to explain why this 3 yr old requires a wheelchair. She is a nurse and he is the minster for health after all.
Cant believe that this is about a standard wheelchair, the HSE provide those within days of asking for one. Even to purchase them they are relatively inexpensive.
@Nick Allen: a child’s wheelchair is different to the standard wheelchairs u get in hosp etc. it is measured to the child and built that it grows with the child. We waited 12 mths for my daughters and if they were inexpensive like you say I would have purchased one myself.
Seriously?? Waiting lists for wheel chairs??
@Brendan Farrell: Its unreal. The people in Leinster House need their priorities straightened out. It’s embarrassing that there is even a list or application process for something like this basic need. Shameful Simon Harris.
I agree about the system it’s unacceptable, they should be no waiting list. The one thing that I didn’t see written in the comments is, the charity’s like enable Ireland & the IWA, & there’s a way more charity’s than that, who get huge funding from government. The funding that they receive is being used inappropriately, the matter of top brace salaries in all charity’s must be addressed or capped at an appropriate amount. The disability sector is worth 7.4 billion per annum, and a child can not get a wheelchair, this must change. I have sat on a board of a charity, I resigned because of underhanded behavior, lack of transparency. Unfortunately this is only the tip of the iceberg. The money is in the system, it should be used to improve the quality of life for everyone with disabilities.
Look,
This is typical of our ego driven, self importance, managerial failing systems we have in this country.
Meet every 2 weeks!!!!
Make decisions based on paperwork!!!
Box ticking!!!
I did my job now!!!!
For the love of God Lads, money is not the problem. Get out if your comfy 9-5 attitudes and actually make a real difference in the lives of those you are employed to help and do it now!!!
Wheelchairs are like 200€. It would be faster to buy one and a gofundme would have it done in less than a day.
@Sara O’Dowd: wheelchairs are not €200 believe me, if that was the case I would have not waited 12 mths for my daughter’s chair. Her chair cost about €3k no way I could afford that. €200 for wheelchair, not in Ireland.
People with disabilities are second class citizens in Ireland
@Martin Sinnott: More like 3 or 4th class. The problem usually is that they and their families are too busy and tired just trying to fight for basics that they don’t have the physical and mental energies to take everything public.
While it is really unbelievable that this little child has to wait on a list to be provided with this specially adapted custom made wheelchair, people have to think about the other people on the waiting list who have been waiting longer than him for their equipment. It is wrong wrong wrong on all counts that people have to wait on a list for equipment but it is also wrong if a social media campaign means that somebody end up skipping the queue.
@Geraldine O’Brien: please try considering not bringing need down to the lowest common denominator- all children cherished equally should mean that the needs are met . . As a mother and grandmother, I would unfortunately only be able to see what my child would need – unforgivable I know but human .
No mention of the cost? Totally Ridiculous that this little lad has to wait until some bureaucrat processes a list. Action required tomorrow and sorted. I also guess that the wheelchair will be subject to VAT as well so government coffers will actually benefit from this sad story
It would behold Leo to be making a few call on behalf of this family rather than “ taking the piss calls” on behalf of Donald Trump
I find this article disgusting to read ,perhaps now it is out their on social media things will move .
If you had of had a link to a fund raising for him with this article they would of had it. Totally shouldn’t have to but they probably should start.
@Alison Sheppard: and should all the other kids waiting do the same ? All those kids with CP and such ?Because this child is just one of many.
Poor little lad,this really is terrible.
jesus does anyone sleep around here
What the hell… disgraceful HSE absolutely appalling, This is a child not a cattle…
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