Former RTÉ CFO says no to invite to appear before PAC
O’Keeffe has ‘no more to add’ on controversy
RTÉ’s former chief financial officer has rejected an invitation to appear before the Dáil’s public spending watchdog to answer questions on the ongoing controversy at the beleaguered broadcaster.
Breda O’Keeffe wrote to the Public Accounts Committee last week to reject its invitation for her to attend its hearing tomorrow.
Ms O’Keeffe was invited to attend the hearing by the committee as it compiles a report into the issues of transparency at the national broadcaster, following revelations that Ryan Tubridy received €345,000 more than was publicly disclosed.
The former head of finance in RTÉ appeared before the Media Committee in July, where she revealed she had left the broadcaster in a voluntary exit scheme.
The national broadcaster subsequently launched a review into the scheme as it appeared that Ms O’Keeffe’s exit package was not signed off by everyone on the RTÉ Executive, and another person was hired in her role – contrary to redundancy laws.
Ms O’Keeffe told the PAC in her letter that she has ‘no more to add’ to her previous contribution and ‘respectfully declined’ the committee’s invitation. She told the PAC in correspondence last week that she left RTÉ ‘over three and a half years ago’.
She said that her testimony at the Media Committee was ‘based on my best recollection of events almost four years ago and without the benefit of access to any written records, emails’.
‘I acknowledge that there was one discrepancy between my recollection of the RTÉ attitude towards the provision of a then proposed guarantee for one year of the then proposed Renault agreement, but that was my recollection at the time’ she added. Ms O’Keeffe said that she was not aware that RTÉ guaranteed to underwrite the commercial side deal for Mr Tubridy worth €75,000 a year when she departed in March 2020.
The guarantee ‘was not on offer,’ she said.
However, Mr Tubridy’s agent Noel Kelly provided politicians with an email from Ms O’Keeffe from February 2020 which said that RTÉ could provide a side letter to underwrite the €75,000 a year commercial deal.
‘The Renault agreement was negotiated and concluded after my departure from RTÉ. I apologise for my erroneous recollection,’ Ms O’Keeffe told PAC. The €75,000-a-year deal cost RTÉ €305,000 over three years, due to a premium charged on the transaction through the RTÉ barter account and providing Renault with a credit note for one year of the deal.
Ms O’Keeffe also told the committee that she has participated fully in the Grant Thornton review into Mr Tubridy’s earnings, ‘including meeting Grant Thornton in person and also provided multiple written statements and responses to their queries.’
She said that she has ‘voluntarily spent considerable time’ both contributing to Grant Thornton’s report and attending the Media Committee’s hearing. ‘I have been subjected to unjustified, excessive and intense negative media intrusion in both my personal and professional life.
‘This is very stressful to me, and my family and it is unreasonable that this be allowed to continue.’
The former head of commercial in RTÉ Geraldine O’Leary has also been invited to attend by the PAC but has not responded to the invitation yet.
The chair of the RTÉ board Siún Ní Raghaillaigh is another no-show, telling the committee she will not be in a position to attend tomorrow.
Director general Kevin Bakhurst will attend, along with members of his interim leadership team.
PAC sought a legal briefing from the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisors last week regarding their powers to compel both witnesses and documents in their examination of RTÉ.
The committee will be meeting this afternoon ahead of their hearing with RTÉ tomorrow to discuss their options.
It is understood that PAC has discussed asking RTÉ to waive their legal privilege on a ‘crucial document’ where Dee Forbes agreed to underwrite the Renault deal for Mr Tubridy, and politicians could compel RTÉ to hand it over.
RTÉ has previously said that it cannot give the committee the note taken by the solicitor as it is covered by legal professional privilege, however PAC want RTÉ to waive this privilege in the interest of transparency.
‘This is very stressful to me’