Brian Brennan: Is RTE Fit for Purpose After Scandals?

Thank you for your opening statements. Unfortunately, I feel this is a case of déjà vu. Especially, I'm hugely concerned when I heard your comments yesterday that this is the price of transparency. I really feel that you have no idea how the public feel of what is happening in RTE. Yes, we're looking for transparency. This committee is looking for transparency. The minister is looking for transparency. But the most important is the license payer and the tax people that are paying their taxes. This is taxpayers' money we're speaking about. Like, what we're getting back in return is a drip-drip feed, one scandal after another. And as sure as night follows day, that we will be back here in six months again listening to other scandals, unless this is urgently addressed. Bearing in mind, in your very own words, that there's critical financial support of three quarters of a billion. I repeat that number, three quarters of a billion been given to RTE. Do you really feel that RTE is fit for purpose? That question needs to be asked. Do you have confidence that the structures are in place? That these scandals and the final skeletons are finally out there? Because based on public opinion, based on our opinion, based on what we heard over the last two weeks, and based on the commentary of everyone in this room that you'll hear later on, is that they're not in place. And Kevin, I'm asking you this straight up. Do you think you are the right man to lead RTE forward? Kevin, that question needs to be asked. This July, you were three years in the job. And when I hear members of the board continue referring to historical issues, like if you put a scenario that Liverpool are not having a great year in the football, but I've never once heard Arne Slott, their current manager, blaming the previous management. When you go in, you try and get your structures in place straight away. That your house is in order. But you have to take responsibility for what is going on. And I feel that is not the case. Going back to the very first, the price of transparency. Transparency is the least the people of Ireland request, based on the financial commitment we've given to RTE. And I feel we're not getting it. I'll let you just respond to that first of all. Look, yes, I'm three years in the job in July. And as you know, the first year and a half was dealing with an absolute crisis. And RTE is a very complicated organisation. And we've got a new leadership team. We've got a robust board and chair. We're absolutely trying to drive transparency. We have made significant changes to what we report to the board. And we've got a robust board and chair. We're absolutely trying to drive transparency. We have made significant changes to what we report to the annual report, how we report it. The level of disclosure is much more transparent than it's ever been. But, you know, as you know, when you look at particular areas of a big organisation, things can arise. Now, you know, we don't know, as I said to the committee last time, as things arise, we will surface them. And we will look into, you know, the details of them. And we will put them out in the public domain. And we've driven a huge amount of transparency in the organisation. But we're continuing to try and do that. And when I said that this is the price of transparency this time round, you know, the whole issue around Derry Mooney's pay was an issue that came up because we put new rigorous, even more rigorous processes around the top ten. It was identified by a finance team. They went away, they looked into it for less than three weeks, and we took legal advice. And we had a decision to make about, we could live with the status quo, which is how he was characterised historically, or we could take a view that we want to be more transparent and put his salary into the top ten, because we view, although he's got a mixture of work. But with respect, my question wasn't about Derry Mooney. My question is, do you feel that you are the right man to lead it forward? And do you feel that the structures are in place to stop this drip, drip of skeleton upon skeleton? Look, to be fair, it's not a drip, drip. It's when we discover things, when we discover things, we will put them in the public domain. I think that's the least that's expected of us. You know, as we go rigorously through the organisation, it is complicated. We were three years in the job.