Mazers found there wasn’t “adequate usage” of London’s exclusive Soho House which cost €5,375 in membership fees
There was a “lack of trust” between RTÉ management and the board due to repeated leaks
Catherine Martin’s department will withhold a second round of funding to RTÉ pending its implementation of recommendations
Minister Martin is to bring forward legislative proposals to assign the C&AG as auditor of RTÉRTÉ will also be directly accountable to the Public Accounts Committee for its expenditureGovernment decision on the future funding model for RTÉ will be made before the summer recess
The Mazars report into RTÉ accounts is one of the three major damning reports published by Government today into embattled RTÉ.
The Mazars report has flagged a number of barter purchase transactions which they deemed have “no valid basis for these transactions to have been paid through the barter account”.
This is because the transactions were not suitable for the barter account and for the purposes which it was used.
The transactions deemed as unsuitable for the barter account include the €150,000 payment to now former RTÉ presenter Ryan Tubridy – which Mazars calls payments to “talent” – and €44,000 worth of Renault payments.
Two payments of €75,000 totalling €150,000 were described as “consultancy fees” were listed as “promotion costs” in RTÉ accounts.
However, this was “not consistent” with the basis for the payments, the report states.
Some of the Renault payments, which totalled €44,000, were classified as “audience research”, which also was “not consistent” with the basis for the payments.
Mazars also identified a payment to a cancelled executive board meeting which cost €2,510 and a payment of €8,054 which relates to spending on “office purchases”.
A total of €5,375 was spent on the membership of Soho House, an exclusive club in London, for four years.
Mazars said it did not see evidence which would show there was “adequate usage” of the club over the four years, which included lockdowns due to the pandemic.
The Mazars report concludes that the barter account was used because there was no “alternative budget” available.
Responding to the review’s findings, Media Minister Catherine Martin said her department will withhold a second round of funding to RTÉ pending its implementation of recommendations contained in a series of reports.
Ms Martin said the report of RTÉ’s barter account provides further evidence of “poor governance”.
She also said that she understands the cap on salary for RTÉ employees will remain at €250,000.
She added that following the implementation of recommendations, she intends to release the first tranche of €40 million in additional Exchequer resources allocated to RTÉ this year.
“The dispersal of the final tranche later this year will be subject to a satisfactory assessment of RTÉ’s updates on the implementation of the plan by my Department and the further agreement of the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform,” she said.
RTÉ told Mazars that the money in the barter account was under the control of the Commercial Director and they had “discretion of how these balances could be utilised”.
A review into the culture and governance of RTÉ has also revealed how RTÉ management didn’t trust the board of the broadcaster because sensitive information has repeatedly been leaked.
The review says board members felt the management believed they were accountable to the board. The report goes through a series of leaks of information over recent years, up to late last year
“A lack of trust between the board and former executive board. Some board members told us that they did not believe executives considered they were accountable to the board.
“In contrast, some of executives we spoke to, perhaps unfairly, thought the board a possible source of previous leaks of confidential information,” the report says.
The perceived threat of leaks may have contributed to the lack of transparency in RTÉ executives dealings with the Board. The report says research shows “that this lack of transparency is a more widespread issue, with less than 20pc of those surveyed believing RTÉ’s management had been fair and open about decisions made”.
Media Minister Catherine Martin has published reports into governance and accounting practices at the national broadcaster RTÉ this afternoon.
The long-awaited reports were published alongside a separate examination on the organisation’s use of off-balance-sheet accounts which was commissioned by RTÉ itself.
RTÉ was plunged into crisis in June last year after it admitted understating the fees for its star presenter and previous top earner Ryan Tubridy.
A series of probing Dáil committee hearings also uncovered other concerns about culture, governance and financial management at RTÉ and there have been several high profile resignations from the board and executive of the station.
In a statement, RTÉ director-general, Kevin Bakhurst said: “We welcome the publication of the three reports by the minister and accept in principle the recommendations included in both Expert Advisory Committees.
“We have worked closely with both committees and with Mazars since last year to provide all information available and enable the completion of the reports.
“We understand the need to restore trust in RTÉ following a succession of revelations last year and I hope it is clear that we take the issues which have emerged very seriously.
“The events of last year are a source of deep frustration and disappointment to all of us in RTÉ and those connected to this organisation.
“We have already undertaken major reform of RTÉ and addressed many of the recommendations included in the reports and we are committed to continuing on this process of reform, now with the benefit of recommendations set out in the reports today.
“We will respond formally and in full when we have taken time to give the reports full consideration.”
Minister Catherine Martin is to speak to the media this evening.
More to follow