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The new boss of national Irish broadcaster RTÉ has overhauled the company’s management saying he was “appalled” at a scandal sparked by revelations over secret payments to its star presenter that have rocked public faith in the service.
On his first day as director-general Kevin Bakhurst stood down the executive board in charge of the day-to-day running of the almost century-old broadcaster and replaced it with an interim team, half of whom are new to such management roles.
“The culture in RTÉ needs change, from top to bottom,” said Bakhurst, in an early-morning email to staff in which he vowed to “draw a line under this shameful period . . . and to start rebuilding trust in public service broadcasting”.
Bakhurst also promised a new culture of transparency over the pay of senior managers and top presenters, a register of contractor interests and to appoint an external corporate governance official after the worst scandal in the broadcaster’s history erupted last month.
It prompted Leo Varadkar, taoiseach, to demand change and to promise a review of the €160 annual television licence fee, which supplies slightly more than half of the broadcaster’s funding.
The scandal began when it emerged that Ryan Tubridy, a longtime presenter of flagship TV chat programme The Late Late Show and a radio slot, had received hundreds of thousands of euros in undisclosed and hidden payments.
Some were funnelled through a special advertising account, which was also used for lavish spending on restaurants, concerts and even €5,000 on flip-flops for client events. RTÉ is also reliant on advertising and sponsorship.
The saga has become a national soap opera, gripping Ireland as embarrassing details have dribbled out in a series of parliamentary hearings in which executives squirmed as they were grilled for hours.
They included a €2.2mn loss on an RTÉ Christmas musical flop and exposed a web of celebrity product endorsements by the broadcaster’s stars.
Bakhurst, a former senior BBC manager, told RTÉ radio news that he shared staff anger and embarrassment and had been “appalled” and “shocked” to find out what had been going on.
“This will never happen again,” he said, promising full accountability and transparency.
RTÉ, which began broadcasting on radio in 1926 and on TV in 1960, also has a governing board, which remains in place. Its chair, Siún Ní Raghallaigh, told a parliamentary committee at the end of June that €345,000 in hidden payments to Tubridy over several years had been an act “designed to deceive”. The government has appointed a forensic auditor to examine RTÉ’s accounts.
The revelations have highlighted a lack of transparency and an absence of communication between managers and the governing board. Some legislators dubbed the use of the so-called barter advertising account for hidden payments a “slush fund”.
Bakhurst vowed to eradicate the “siloed and at times secretive decision-making” culture at RTÉ. “As custodians of public money, our financial integrity must be on a par with our editorial integrity,” he said.
A number of presenters’ additional roles as brand ambassadors have also come into the spotlight after it emerged that RTÉ guaranteed some payments to Tubridy in relation to his contract with carmaker Renault.
Station morale was further undermined by the news that Tubridy was promised there would be no cut to his pay at a time when reductions were sought from other staff. There were details of lavish client spending — including the €4,200 membership of a private London club — while RTÉ’s London correspondent had to file dispatches from café toilets after the station closed its office.
Tubridy, who stepped down from The Late Late Show last month, is not accused of wrongdoing but has been taken off the air indefinitely.
He and his influential agent, Noel Kelly, who also represents other RTÉ stars, were due to address parliamentary committees on Tuesday. The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Several pubs in Dublin are preparing to screen the hearings, in a sign of public interest in the scandal.
