Details regarding the exit agreement of one of RTÉ’s leading executives, Jim Jennings, haven’t been divulged by the broadcasting company, although they assured it will feature in next year’s published accounts. On Thursday, RTÉ declared that the content director, Jennings, was set to depart from the organisation by month-end. The broadcaster’s director general, Kevin Bakhurst, announced an accord regarding Jennings’s departure to the staff, facilitated by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).
Bakhurst refrained from revealing specifics of any settlement deal. Catherine Martin, the Minister for Media’s spokesperson, expressed respect for the legal procedure and the confidential nature of such agreements. The Minister hadn’t received details of the settlement, asserted a representative for the RTÉ board, citing the process’s confidential nature.
Previously in June, an Oireachtas committee had heard that RTÉ’s board was contemplating an exit package for an anonymous person, potentially costing around €400,000. There was no confidentiality clause linked to Jennings’s agreement, confirmed an RTÉ representative, but he declared that specifics of any agreement were not disclosed in line with the WRC mediation service’s principles.
Jennings, a member of RTÉ’s high-level executive board under the erstwhile director general, Dee Forbes, has been on health leave for some time and didn’t participate in any RTÉ delegations to different Oireachtas committees over the past year. He was also not part of the new leadership ensemble instituted at the broadcasting house a year ago when Bakhurst assumed the director general’s role.
In a meeting with an Oireachtas committee in June, Terence O’Rourke, RTÉ chairman, revealed, in response to queries made by TD Brendan Griffin of Fine Gael, a proposal for an exit package for an individual was brought under the board’s attention. Mr O’Rourke refrained from disclosing any specific details citing legal restrictions. When Griffin probed further for an estimated cost that could be above €400,000, O’Rourke responded that the number might indeed be in this ballpark.
When questioned about the connection between the disclosure process and the news of Mr Jennings, the spokesperson for RTÉ refrained from commenting, saying RTÉ could only make comments within the confines of the statement. A subsequent statement from RTÉ promised to balance their reporting obligations with the conditions agreed upon in the WRC settlement.
Mr Bakhurst, speaking to an Oireachtas committee in July, expressed his personal displeasure at disbursing payouts to personnel, but accepted that changes were expected within the broadcaster’s topmost management. The Irish Media, Sport and Tourism Department reported that earlier this week, the RTÉ chairman had updated Minister Martin that the arrangements for a senior staff member’s exit package had been finalised.
Given the confidentiality of the resolution reached through WRC mediation, the specifics of the settlement remained undisclosed. The minister respected the confidentiality aspect of this legal protocol. Mr Jennings has been associated with RTÉ for nearly four decades, having launched his career in radio as a researcher before transitioning into television and working as a producer/director. His significant contributions include the refashioning of the Rose of Tralee’s coverage in 2006, editing the Irish TV series Léargas and his role as executive producer on The Late Late Show when Tubridy assumed the position of the host in 2009. He has also worked as the executive producer of major broadcast events such as the 2003 Special Olympics Opening Ceremony and the general election broadcasting coverage.