The former chair of the RTÉ board, Siún Ní Raghallaigh, has issued a “scathing” statement strongly critical of Minister Catherine Martin, slamming the Minister for “actively taking a hands-off approach” to the RTÉ crisis, and claiming that her “enforced dismissal” seemed designed to “traduce” the ex-Chair’s reputation.
Ms Ní Raghallaigh resigned within hours of a Prime Time interview where the Media Minister refused to express confidence of the RTÉ board, with Martin suggesting that she had been misinformed about Ms Ní Raghallaigh’s role in approving a severance package for the former CFO of RTÉ, Richard Collins.
In a statement, Ms Ni Raghallaigh said during her time in the role she dedicated every day to reforming RTÉ, and said the Media Minister had adopted a “hands off approach” to the crisis, dealing with the Chair through officials.
A scathing paragraph in the statement reads: “If the Minister had decided that she no longer wanted me as Chair, that is her privilege. However, I cannot remain silent about the manner of my enforced dismissal which seemed designed to traduce my reputation”.
Ms Ní Raghallaigh accepted that she had failed to recollect the Remuneration Committee’s sign-off, describing this as a “memory lapse”. The former Chair rejected claims that Minister Martin had quizzed her repeatedly on the exit package for Mr Collins on February 19 and 21.
“I do not claim to understand why an issue disposed of on October 10 2023 and subsequently discussed in length at the (Public Accounts Committee) should be revived in February 2024 but not in the intervening period,” she said.
“I do not claim that the severance package of the former CFO was in any way unimportant, but in my mind, it was historical as I, along with the DG, wrestled with many current challenges.
“I advised the then Secretary General on October 10th of the decision of the Remuneration Committee, I thought no more about it nor did I receive any follow-up queries from the Department or the Minister in relation to it before exit packages came into the public domain,” Ms Ní Raghallaigh said.
She continued: “Reference has been made to ‘numerous’ enquiries on the exit package for Mr Collins at two Ministerial meetings of which I attended with the DG of RTÉ [Kevin Bakhurst] – however, the fact is that these enquiries were outside the agenda of the meetings and were mentioned at the end of the meetings that dealt with other substantive elements.
“The error was a lapse of memory – nothing more. I had no motivation or gain to obfuscate on the matter. This was a matter that had been dealt with in October 2023, almost five months prior.”
“Once I realised that I had inadvertently given the Minister the wrong answer to a question from her at the end of a meeting on Monday 19th February and again at a meeting on Wednesday 21st, I notified the Department that I wanted to make a clarification at 10.07am on Thursday 22nd February.
“The exit package was also discussed in more than passing references at the Public Accounts Committee on 12th October 2023. In addition, a letter was also sent from RTÉ to the Department on November 30th which outlined in writing the new terms of reference for the Remuneration Committee.”
Ms Ní Raghallaigh then addressed the claim made by the Minister that Ms Ní Raghallaigh had indicated that she would refuse to receive a letter from the Minister about the issue and that she would resign if a letter was received.
She said: “After the clarification I made on February 22nd, the first response from the officials was to relay the Minister’s disappointment and indicate that a formal letter stating this would be sent to me. I asked them to request the Minister not to send the letter because it would not be in the best interests of RTÉ as it would in effect, put this matter, which had been dealt with at the remuneration committee a number of months ago, right back in the arena with no positive purpose and would make my position as chair untenable.”
She added: “It is inaccurate to state anything other than that I told the Secretary General of the Department about the decision of the Remuneration Committee in respect of the Richard Collins case. I have no doubt at all on that matter.”
“A different construction is now being put on that, my use of the word ‘imagine’ [made in a phone call] is now being misrepresented.” Ms Ní Raghallaigh said “there was no invitation at any point during these conversations for me to meet or talk with the Minister directly”.
She added: “It was said to me that the Minister wanted to get the letter out to me so that if she were asked any question on this matter during her Prime Time interview, she could say that she had sent this letter to me.
“It was now apparent that a plan was afoot, somehow involving the letter and the Prime Time appearance and that would not be changed by any input from RTÉ. It began to appear that the letter was as much being dictated by the upcoming Prime Time interview as anything surrounding my clarification about the Collins case,” she said.
Ms Ní Raghallaigh said: “If the Minister had decided that she no longer wanted me as Chair, that is her privilege. However, I cannot remain silent about the manner of my enforced dismissal which seemed designed to traduce my reputation.”
Ms Ní Raghallaigh said the Minister did not assist in the board’s goals of restoring licence fee payers’ confidence in RTÉ.
“This was urgent, not least to continue to arrest the decline in licence fee compliance since the controversy began last summer and which, regretfully, was not assisted by the minister who said she would refuse to tell licence payers what to do.”
She said at no point was she offered a phone call or a meeting with the minister “directly” before Prime Time.
“The rule book on good governance may prescribe regular contact between minister and chair as the norm but, from day one, I had no choice but to accept the practice of regular contact between chair and secretary general.
“I also want to record my conviction that, quantum aside, the restructure programme in RTÉ would not be possible without resort to negotiated severance arrangements,” she said.
Minister Martin stated this evening night that she “noted” Ms Ní Raghallaigh’s remarks but that she had “outlined in detail the position of the Department officials and I on this matter”.
She said: “This included taking questions at a three and a half hour meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee and doing statements in the Dáil.
“Any Minister needs to rely on getting clear, timely and accurate information from the Chair of a State Body. This is particularly important at such a challenging time in RTÉ’s history.
“I would again like to put on record my thanks to the former Chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh for her dedication and commitment to RTÉ and public service broadcasting.
“An important step forward for RTÉ will be taken tomorrow when I seek Government approval for the appointment of a new Chair and additional boards members. Upon appointment I will seek to meet the new Chair and the Director General in the coming days.”