A major restructuring of top management at RTE is expected to be announced in the coming days with the likely departure from his post of Mr Joe Mulholland, one of the station's most senior executives.
The Irish Times has learned that discussions on Mr Mulholland's future as managing editor of television have been under way for the last week. A spokesman for RTE said last night that he was not in a position to comment on the matter. Mr Mulholland could not be contacted for comment last night.
However, informed sources at RTE believe the TG4 executive, Mr Cathal Goan, is most likely to succeed Mr Mulholland.
Last week, one of Mr Mulholland's deputies, Ms Helen O'Rahilly, resigned her position to take up a senior post at the BBC. Ms O'Rahilly, who was director of television production, had spent less than 12 months at the station.
Sources indicated last night that the head of RTE in Cork, Mr Gerry Reynolds, is expected to replace Ms O'Rahilly.
In recent months, RTE has faced mounting criticism and Mr Mulholland has had to deal with public outcry over the station's Millennium programming, its coverage of the winter solstice at Newgrange, and the falling viewing figures for the new format Late Late Show.
Mr Mulholland was also forced by public opinion into a U-turn on his decision to replace Met Eireann staff on television weather forecasts.
Mr Mulholland claimed people had become too focused on the "mistakes" RTE had made in its Millennium programming and its coverage of the winter solstice at Newgrange.
Defending the new year coverage, Mr Mulholland said that RTE had had difficulties at midnight because there was so little happening around the country. "Perhaps we should have foreseen that, but on the night, what could we do?" he said.
He said Pat Kenny was doing a "very good job" on the Late Late Show. People should let it develop before rushing to judgment, he said.
Mr Mulholland also defended the station's axing of arts programmes such as Later With John Kelly and Cursai Ealaine, insisting he was personally committed to maintaining RTE's arts programming, and to strengthening it.
Writing in The Irish Times in January, Mr Mulholland said: "The broadcasting miracle is not that we are doing so little, but that we are doing so much."
Since the announcement of Ms O'Rahilly's resignation there has been intense speculation at senior level within RTE about Mr Mulholland's future. He attended a public meeting with other senior RTE executives in Co Kilkenny last Wednesday. Mr Mulholland has been one of the most powerful and controversial figures in Irish broadcasting over the last 30 years. A native of Co Donegal, he joined the RTE in 1970 as a producer/director after working for several years as a teacher.
He was appointed head of television current affairs in 1986 and is credited with producing a series of ground-breaking programmes for Today Tonight, a current affairs series. In 1986, he became director of news with responsibility for news output on television and radio. He failed on two occasions to become director-general of RTE. With the appointment of Mr Bob Collins as DG in 1998, Mr Mulholland was in effect given control of all television output as managing editor of television.
Relations between Mr Collins and Mr Mulholland, who will be 60 this year, are understood to have been tense but workmanlike.
Defending the station's performance in this newspaper, Mr Mulholland maintained that RTE had the talent and creativity to service the Irish public in the new millennium and to serve it well. But it could not be assumed that it would do so unaided and left simply to market forces.
"Governments must ensure that, whilst allowing for consumer choice, they play a proactive role in defending the values of public service broadcasting," he wrote.