The publication by Minister for Media Catherine Martin of three reports into different aspects of the issues that have dogged RTÉ since last June will – we must hope – see the start of a line being drawn under the controversy.
The reports seek to address the numerous deficits in corporate governance and financial management at the national broadcaster that tumbled out into the open after undisclosed details of presenter Ryan Tubridy’s remuneration agreement surfaced from an internal review. Taken together, the reports paint a picture of an organisation whose controls failed over many years through a combination of financial pressure, weak management and ineffective oversight.
The are 116 recommendations contained in the two reviews and the Government has decided to accept every one of them. It will also seek assurances from RTÉ about the future operation of the infamous barter account that was the subject of the third report.
The recommendations are for the most part sensible and achievable. They include beefing up risk and compliance functions and the accountability of the director-general to the RTÉ Board.
Others – such as bringing RTÉ under the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General – are more cosmetic in nature and politically motivated. But if implemented in good faith, the measures should contribute to a more robust and accountable culture at the organisation. Together with a renewal of the leadership team and a more effective board, they will be important building blocks of an RTÉ that is fit for purpose.
The question as to what that purpose might be remains unanswered. The lack of clarity about RTÉ's overriding purpose is one of the factors that contributed to its festering problems and its self-combustion over the last 11 months. A failure to resolve the issue is a recipe for more of the same.
A clear vision on the part of the Government as to what role RTÉ will play in Irish society is also a prerequisite for resolving the issue of how to fund the organisation in the future. Whatever model of funding the Government eventually settles on, it is always easier to ask people for money when they know what they will be getting in return.
Research from the Electoral Commission published this week showing that half the population was at least prepared to countenance the notion that a secret world government exists points the way to at least one part of the answer to the question. It is the need for a counterweight to the avalanche of false information that prevails in the era of social media. This issue should be uppermost in the Government’s mind as it ponders the future of RTÉ. It needs to meet its commitment of an early decision on what happens next on the funding of the broadcaster.