RTÉ will be insolvent if it does not receive a bailout of tens of millions of euro by next spring, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has heard.
The broadcaster’s director general, Kevin Bakhurst, confirmed the situation on Thursday as he attended what was at times a fractious meeting with the Dáil’s spending watchdog.
Committee chair Brian Stanley had earlier told RTÉ Radio that he would seek to compel RTÉ to release a minute of a key meeting held in May 2020, during which former director general Dee Forbes allegedly agreed that RTÉ would guarantee undisclosed payments to former star presenter Ryan Tubridy.
The payments scandal which erupted following the disclosure of €225,000 in payments to Tubridy has led to a financial crisis at RTÉ, with licence fee income having sharply dropped since, and unprecedented scrutiny over the broadcaster’s governance. This has triggered the departure of several key executives and a severing of ties between the company and Tubridy.
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During the committee hearing, Mr Stanley raised the issue of the note from the May 2020 meeting with Mr Bakhurst, who reasserted legal privilege over it. Mr Stanley said the PAC felt “there’s obviously an importance to this, particularly in the absence of Ms Dee Forbes for being able to attend here because she was one of the people at that meeting”.
Representatives for Ms Forbes are understood to have again told the committee that she is unable to appear before it due to ill health.
Mr Stanley said the committee was “not happy” and he told Mr Bakhurst that if RTÉ was still claiming client confidentiality over the notes, “you do have the right to waive that”.
Mr Bakhurst said: “On this document specifically there is a really important issue at play here – and I’m not trying to hide behind legal advice – but you will appreciate as a responsible organisation if we had taken legal advice about what we can and can’t and should disclose it would be remiss of us to act against that legal advice.”
There were testy exchanges between Labour’s Alan Kelly and Mr Bakhurst, with the Tipperary TD taking exception to RTÉ's indication that it was prepared to fight the PAC over the note.
“This is a pivotal moment for you,” said Mr Kelly, who described Mr Bakhurst’s language when he told PAC that RTÉ stands ready for any attempt to compel the document as “too confrontational”.
He said he believed Mr Bakhurst was doing a good job but that if a legal row broke out over the document, “your position won’t be tenable”. Mr Stanley said the committee would be moving to seek to compel RTÉ to provide the document.
The committee heard that RTÉ has €68 million on hand but is burning through cash at a time when licence fee income has collapsed. It is down 39 per cent according to the most recent figures compiled by the broadcaster.
RTÉ spent €339 million last year and expects to spend €350 million this year. It expects to have a deficit of €10 million to €12 million by the end of the year. Licence fee income is expected to drop by €21 million this year alone. A Government body has recommended a €40 million bailout for the organisation, in addition to €16 million in extra State funding and €21 million of cost cutting.
“If we didn’t get this cash, we would run out of cash, that’s for sure,” Mr Bakhurst said.
He also said RTÉ had not received €150,000 from Tubridy, which the presenter indicated he would consider giving back earlier this year, before the talks to bring him back to his radio programme collapsed.
Sinn Féin TD Imelda Munster was told that RTÉ has made a provision of “under €20 million” for ongoing costs arising from cases of alleged bogus self-employment – the first time the broadcaster has been this precise about the potential costs.
Mike Fives, the station’s financial controller, said this money would also have to come from the broadcaster’s cash pile should it have to pay out on the claims.
On the potential sale of RTÉ's Montrose campus, Mr Bakhurst said: “We are awaiting more up-to-date valuations, but early indications are that a complete sale of the Donnybrook campus is unlikely, and the repurposing of the current site will not be without challenges and significant costs.”
The committee also heard an update on the many reviews under way into the broadcaster, with several reports due in the coming weeks.
Fianna Fáil TD Cormac Devlin was told the investigations ongoing into RTÉ are costing the broadcaster about €250,000 per month.
Resignation
It emerged on Wednesday that RTÉ's chief financial officer (CFO) Richard Collins had resigned.
Mr Bakhurst told TDs: “Due to various legal restrictions, I am not in a position to comment further on that matter, but I can assure you that I will be moving to advertise for the role of CFO as soon as possible.
“This will be a priority appointment for the permanent leadership team, alongside the appointment of a new commercial director.”
