‘A CULTURE OF ARROGANCE’ AMONG BROADCASTER’S TOP BRASS, SAYS LEO

LEO Varadkar has said there is a ‘culture of arrogance’ among senior figures within RTÉ, and that there has been ‘poor governance’ at the station.

The Taoiseach was responding to questions from Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald , who said public trust in RTÉ has ‘crumbled’ and that people ‘feel taken for fools’.

Sinn Féin’s Dáil motion calling for a legal amnesty for those who have not paid their TV licence fee, and for the abolition of the TV licence model, ended in defeat last night, with 79 votes against the proposal and 57 in favour. Instead of the licence system, Sinn Féin is proposing a direct Exchequer-funded model.

Speaking during Leaders’ Questions, Ms McDonald asked whether the Taoiseach plans to chase people through the courts for not paying their TV licence fee.

‘Not one of the top brass at RTÉ have been held to account,’ she said, arguing it is unfair to pursue members of the public for not paying the €160 fee. Ms McDonald also accused Cabinet ministers of being divided on a new funding model.

She said Mr Varadkar had said previously that the current model is ‘outdated’ and ‘belongs to a different time’, comments she then used to urge the Taoiseach to ‘abolish it’. Mr Varadkar responded by asking whether Sinn Féin’s policy includes offering a rebate to those who have paid for their TV licence. ‘I believe that many people should obey the law and I believe that many people should pay their taxes and pay their charges,’ he said. ‘And I think it would be an affront and an insult to the majority of decent, law-abiding citizens who have paid their TV licence fee to now grant an amnesty to those who didn’t. I think [that] would be profoundly unfair.’ He also raised concerns about a conflict of interest if a model of direct State funding was introduced. He said: ‘We know that there’s somebody in this House, who might be the head of government in the next government, who’s suing RTÉ at the moment. That will be huge conflict of interest, in my view, to have people who are suing RTÉ deciding how much money they get paid. That’s not the kind of democracy we want.’ Ms McDonald, pictured left, took a legal action against RTÉ in the High Court in 2022 over alleged defamation.