New “exit fees” and “talent fees” identified in RTÉ’s accounts are now under investigation by auditors, a review into the broadcasters’ top 10 earners has stated.
New Director General Kevin Bakhurst will tell TDs at the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday morning that the last number of weeks have “created one of the most shameful and damaging episodes” in RTÉ’s history and that the public and politicians have been “misled”.
It is the first time Mr Bakhurst will address the Oireachtas since taking over the reins at the embattled broadcaster on Monday.
An interim review carried out by Grant Thornton was sent to PAC members on Wednesday evening.
Read more: New RTE Director General vows Ryan Tubridy will not be out of his job
It was commissioned to inspect the contracts of RTÉ’s top 10 most highly paid on-air presenters to independently validate that all remuneration figures have been correctly stated publicly and properly accounted for by RTÉ from 2008 to 2022.
It is separate from the one that initially identified that Ryan Tubridy’s salary had been under-declared by RTÉ by €345,000 between 2017 to 2022.
The report stated that payments had been logged into accounts related to “exit fees, performance fees, etc”.
The forensic accountant said that he is “in the process of reviewing these other accruals” and “reserves the right to amend this Interim Report”.
The author said that it had sought other documentation from RTÉ that would identify differences between published pay and the “values shown in the books and records”.
However, RTÉ is “experiencing difficulties in identifying whether it retains all of this documentation”.
“I also reserve the right to amend my report should additional information or documentation be provided to me,” the accountant wrote.
The report stated that “for the period 2010 to 2022 inclusive, all remuneration figures have been correctly stated publicly and properly accounted for by RTÉ in each year”.
However, it noted that one employee was paid more than €1,359 more than was stated. This, it said, was due to “unpaid annual leave”. The forensic accountant said this “is not significant” and had “no impact on rankings”.
The report also stated that while payments to Mr Tubridy between 2017 and 2022 remain under review, “in respect of 2008 to 2016, I have found no errors in the published remuneration figures by RTÉ for Mr Tubridy”.
As part of the process, a forensic accountant performed a review of press releases from 2008 to 2021 to determine the identification of the top ten earners within RTÉ. The figures for 2022 have not yet been published and are redacted in the report.
He also requested end-of-year payslips for all employees identified in the top ten earners.
It also reviewed the statements issued by three Barter Agencies to determine whether there were any payments made to the top earners that relate to the payment of additional fees/salary.
In his opening statement to PAC this morning [weds], Mr Bakhurst will tell TDs that “matters relating to the contractual arrangements for Mr Tubridy, the public misstatements of his remuneration and other subsequent discoveries” have created “one of the most shameful and damaging episodes in the organisation’s history”.
He will say that while there are a number of investigations underway, there are “a number of things [that] are beyond dispute”.
“RTÉ should not be brokering or facilitating commercial arrangements with its contractors,” Mr Bakhurst will say.
“The level of fees in contracts of this nature are too high.
“We should have operated with greater transparency and should have applied much higher standards of honesty and integrity in terms of its public statements.
“The public were misled, as were you as public representatives.
“That is completely unacceptable. I want to assure you that lessons have been learned, and actions are being taken.”
Mr Bakhurst will say that culture in RTÉ “needs to change”.
He will continue: “While RTÉ has robust processes and rigorous oversight of finances in many parts of the organisation, negotiations with agents and the processes around certain decisions have highlighted gaps in our processes and procedures which have caused us considerable harm.
“From today, all significant decisions will be agreed by the whole of the Interim Leadership Team and a record of discussions leading to these decisions will be compiled.
“The pay of the permanent Leadership Team will be published annually along with top 10 presenter pay - this will be published in the annual report.”
Mr Bakhurst will also say that he has told all workers in RTÉ that they need to fully comply with all reviews being conducted.
Siún Ní Raghallaigh, Chair of the RTÉ Board, meanwhile, will say that Mr Bakhurst is “already studying the ship” at the national broadcaster.
“Mr Bakhurst is facing up to the issues of the past and the lamentable failures that have emerged, but he is also setting out an ambitious agenda for the secure future of the organisation,” she will say.
She said that the interim report from Grant Thornton was received on Wednesday evening.
“Grant Thornton’s review confirms that RTÉ had correctly stated and properly accounted for these figures for the period 2010 to 2022, with the obvious exception of what have already restated,” she will say.
“Work is ongoing for 2008 – 2009 given the historical nature of those records and the second instalment namely a review of the misstatement of the 2017 – 2019 figures for Mr. Tubridy.”
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