The government has received a call to speed up the release of two critical reports on RTÉ, as stated by the Department of Arts and Media. It has been confirmed that neither report has yet been put forward to the Minister for Arts and Media, Catherine Martin.
Last summer, Ms Martin asked for two external reports to be conducted on the nation’s broadcaster. One report is assessing the broadcaster’s governance and culture, while the other aims to explore topics such as contractor fees, human resources and other issues. The issue of alleged false self-employment at RTÉ is another important aspect that the second report is seemingly set to investigate. The broadcaster has already allocated a large sum to cover the payroll taxes related to this matter.
Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach, recently highlighted the issues of irregular self-employment at a Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting. He labelled them as one of the largest challenges facing RTÉ and suggested that there might be financial issues, such as unpaid PRSI to the State.
Early in March, the Department of Arts and Media announced that it was Ms. Martin’s expectation that the reviews would be presented to her within the month and that the enquiry into contractor fees had finished. However, a spokesperson announced last week that the additional report looking into governance and culture was still in the process of checking the facts.
As the two reports complement each other, the spokesperson explained that they would be submitted together and that they would be presented to the minister in due time. Once the reviews have been submitted, the Minister will review them before presenting them to the Government for consideration and eventual publication. The scheduling for presenting the reports to the Government will be determined post-reception of the reports.
Marie Sherlock, the Labour Senator and the party’s Arts and Media spokeswoman, voiced her party’s desire to see the reports at the earliest opportunity. The Senator noted the broadcaster’s need for the reports’ conclusions to continue operations. However, she urged caution, stating the crucial importance of getting them right and publishing the recommendations swiftly without unnecessary delay.