Five things we learned from the latest tranche of RTÉ reports

Here are some of the main findings:

Pay for top earners

The list of highest paid presenters should be published in RTÉ’s annual report alongside an external auditor’s report, one of the recommendations state.

RTÉ should also publish details of total remuneration paid, as well as salaries, gifts, and hospitality along with a declaration of personal interests for all “Senior Leaders” who are on a salary of over €200,000

Their expenses, which are reimbursed, should also be published.

‘No valid basis’

Payments made to presenter Ryan Tubridy had “no valid basis” to be paid through the barter accounts, the Mazars report said.

It 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.

Trust

RTÉ management didn’t trust the board of the broadcaster because sensitive information has repeatedly been leaked.

The review into the culture and governance of RTÉ 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

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.

Expenses

Nearly €4m was paid in allowances for a range of categories - including car, additional responsibility, extra qualifications and for ‘acting up’, where certain workers fulfil tasks in roles which are for jobs which are better paid.

One of the reports raises serious concerns about this number, saying the “number, purpose, and criteria applying lacks clarity and in some cases justification and should be urgently reviewed, including costs”.

Media Minister Catherine Martin has now asked the RTÉ Board to review hospitality, travel and subsistence expenses within RTÉ which were reported to Media Ministers between 2017 and 2022.

Toy Show The Musical

The RTÉ Board was unable to scrutinise the ill-fated Toy Show musical, which cost the taxpayer €2.3m.

This is because there were “inappropriate and frequently informal management practices” within the organisation which were “verbal rather than written”.

The Board, which is tasked with overseeing how RTÉ is run, has “acknowledged” that it wasn’t able to scrutinise properly.