The Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee has rejected a compromise put forward by RTÉ in the dispute over providing it with a document relating to payments to former Late Late Show host Ryan Tubridy.
The document is a note of a key meeting held in May 2020, during which former RTÉ director general Dee Forbes allegedly agreed that the company would guarantee payments to Tubridy.
Noel Kelly, the presenter’s agent, also participated in the online meeting, as did a legal representative for RTÉ, during which the tripartite agreement between RTÉ, Late Late Show sponsor Renault and Tubridy was discussed.
The committee last month warned RTÉ that if the document was not handed over it would seek powers to compel its release. The broadcaster has refused to hand over the document, citing legal advice.
Committee chairman Brian Stanley on Thursday described an RTÉ offer to provide a detailed summary of the document as “not acceptable” and said the company would have until Monday evening to respond to a renewed demand by the spending watchdog to see the full note.
His remarks came after the committee received a letter from RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst on Wednesday in which he suggested a compromise.
Mr Bakhurst said RTÉ is entitled to confidentiality in its relationship with its solicitor, but offered to provide the committee with “an extensive and detailed summary” of the note prepared by law firm Arthur Cox.
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He said it would be provided on condition that the summary of the note would only be discussed in a private session of the committee and its contents would not be discussed in public or published.
The committee discussed the offer in private on Thursday. Afterwards, Mr Stanley said it was not willing to accept RTÉ's conditions and still wanted to see the original note, without redactions, so it can be discussed by the members in private.
He said the committee would be responding to RTÉ to say its offer is “not acceptable in its current form”.
Mr Stanley said the committee wants to be able to use and publish a summary of the information in the note for their report on RTÉ. He said this would be a “full and final” offer to RTÉ and that a response was wanted by close of business on Monday.
Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy said the tripartite agreement “was one of the central reasons why we had the hearings” into the RTÉ payment controversy. She said “it’s really going to be important that we’re able to refer” to the document in the report the committee is compiling.
Green Party TD Marc Ó Cathasaigh said the RTÉ offer was “a day late and a dollar short in terms of when it arrived to us and what it puts on the table”. He said RTÉ was saying it is “satisfied that all the salient points captured in the note have already been presented in the public arena”.
“What we want to be able to do… is satisfy ourselves that that is the case. That is the only reason that we want this note,” he added.
