Another €654,000 was spent from the RTÉ barter account

Reports make 90 recommendations, including new pay scales and cap on golden handshakes

● The infamous RTÉ barter account had €654,000 sloshing around in it that nobody knew about. An investigation into RTÉ found the slush fund – that came to light in the Ryan Tubridy payments scandal – had six-figure sums that were never included in an annual report. Three reports into the state broadcaster are set to be signed off on by the Cabinet today.

The infamous RTÉ barter account had another €650,000 sloshing around in it that nobody knew about.

A probe into RTÉ found the barter account slush fund – which came to light in the Ryan Tubridy payments scandal – had six-figure sums that were never included in the broadcaster’s annual report.

A new report will now recommend a cap on golden handshakes, which must be approved by the board, at the national broadcaster.

The batch of inquiries also recommend a civil service-style pay scale system for RTÉ, with a range of payments for staff at particular job levels.

The report details a total of €654,000 spent from the barter account, which was not in the annual accounts, including €186,000 in 2018 and €233,000 in 2019.

The existence of the barter account first came to light as it featured in the undisclosed payment to Tubridy and then further revelations about the purchase of flip-flops for a party and lavish corporate hospitality being paid for out of the fund.

The long-awaited reports on RTÉ will be discussed by the Government today. However, no decision will be taken on reform of the TV licence until after the local and European elections.

The likely outcome will be a new form of TV licence with better collection rates and a top-up from the taxpayer.

The three reports contain 90 recommendations – 15 for the Government to implement.

RTÉ chiefs were briefed on the contents of the three reports last week.

RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst and board chairman Terence O’Rourke will pledge this week to implement the recommendations.

The findings of the external reports will result in wide-ranging changes in transparency at RTÉ.

The State’s public spending watchdog, the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), should audit RTÉ’s finances in future, according to the reports, which include forensic examinations of the broadcaster’s finances, expenses, presenter pay and exit payments.

RTÉ’s allowance system is set to be overhauled and exit payments should be “fair and equitable”.

Around 1,068 allowances were being paid to 760 RTÉ staff across nine categories on October 23 last year.

The reports also recommend updating laws around the role of the RTÉ board, the executives of which have been hauled before committees and thrust into controversy. The way presenters are dealt with and paid is also set to be reformed in a major overhaul.

Pay bands should be introduced for on-air presenters, one of the reports says.

Senior ministers will today sign off on the long-awaited external reports on RTÉ, which were commissioned by the Government.

The reports include two separate reviews: one on governance and culture, prepared by an expert committee chaired by Professor Niamh Brennan; and one on human resources and contractor fees, written by an expert committee chaired by consultant Brendan McGinty.

The final Mazars report into the broadcaster, which examined barter accounts and any other “off balance sheet” accounts at RTÉ, will also be published.

The Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee has also previously called for the C&AG to take RTÉ under its remit.

Such a change would need new laws to be brought in.

One of the reports will also detail how 760 staff members are in receipt of allowances which totalled €3.9m in 2022.

However, the number “lacks clarity and in some cases justification”, one of the expert advisory committees found.

The committee calls for an urgent review of the figure of nearly €4m.

The allowances include payments to staff for long service, acting up in senior roles, and what is described in the report as a “role-related allowance”.

The report also found allowances can vary from permanent to temporary payments and can apply to entire sections, or on an individual basis.

The same committee also recommended that anyone earning over €200,000 should have their salary published, along with details of gifts, hospitality and expenses incurred.

The publication of the reports means the Government will finally be able to sign off on plans to overhaul RTÉ and the TV licence.

Taoiseach Simon Harris said he wants this to happen before the Dáil’s summer recess. However, this may only include plans being signed off on at cabinet level.

Ministers privately believe it is unlikely reform of the TV licence will take place before the next general election.

Among the options on the table are scrapping the TV licence and funding RTÉ directly from the Exchequer, or retaining the fee in its current form.

A third option is now emerging of a reformed TV licence and a top-up from the taxpayer.

The Revenue Commissioners collecting the TV licence and a lower level of charge are also to be considered. But any changes probably will not come in during the lifetime of the Coalition.

‘No decision will be taken on reform of the TV licence until after the local and European elections’