Latest news with #DeirdreMcCarthy
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
RTÉ appearance at Oireachtas committee a drab sequel to firework show of two years ago starring Ryan Tubridy
Two years on from the RTÉ scandal that became the greatest show on earth, a cast of 11 Montrose managers returned to Leinster House to meet the Oireachtas media committee . After Ryan Tubridy's spectacular flame-out, this sequel was never going to match the original version. TDs and senators concentrated their questions on a new television marketing campaign for the news division, which is still in production, and on a €3.6 million writedown over a partly abandoned IT project. The marketing campaign has angered some RTÉ staff, not least because actors were hired as extras to film marketing shots about news production. Director general Kevin Bakhurst , who said his job was to 'clean out the stables', complained of 'inaccurate' reporting on this issue. On the suggestion special props were used to improve how the studio looked, he said that was nothing more than two plants being moved from elsewhere in the building. READ MORE [ Ryan Tubridy has not repaid RTÉ €150,000 he received for two promotional events that did not happen, Bakhurst says Opens in new window ] Extras were engaged because the time required for filming would take journalists from their work, RTÉ said. When director of news and current affairs Deirdre McCarthy noted the extras were obscured in the film anyway, one committee member said it seemed actors were paid not to act. The cost of the marketing production thus far was €77,000 plus VAT, with 'five or six' people in Brussels this week for additional filming. Committee chairman Alan Kelly said most observers would consider it 'bananas' for an organisation such as RTÉ to engage an external crew to shoot a marketing film. Bakhurst, however, said RTÉ crews were busy on their own work. On the IT writedown, he accepted the deficit was 'significant'. Still, the political magnitude of the issue seems to have been lost on RTÉ management until a February submission to Minister for Arts and Media Patrick O'Donovan after the botched Arts Council IT project . RTÉ's IT loss cost more than the €2.2 million failure of Toy Show The Musical, so why weren't top executives seized of the matter? Bakhurst said he took the reins only in 2023 and that the impairment was dealt with on the watch of previous finance chiefs. Nothing was hidden, he insisted. Advisory body NewERA, which provides advice to Government on its shareholdings in state companies, had itself sought clarification on the issue. Although RTÉ argued the impairments were properly set out in its accounts, accounting rules are a world away from the heat of an Oireachtas committee. Kelly, the chairman, asked why O'Donovan's department never raised the matter when RTÉ was under intense political scrutiny two years ago. 'No red flag was raised with the department in relation to it by RTÉ or by NewERA – and we didn't raise a red flag in relation to it,' Feargal Ó Coigligh, department secretary general, said. 'I think things would be very different today.' All of this flows from ructions over Tubridy, the man long gone from RTÉ but whose 'ghost' lingers. Bakhurst said Tubridy had not returned €150,000 from the fateful Renault deal that set off the 2023 avalanche. RTÉ had 'no legal basis' to compel repayment, but 'we'd like him to'. Asked whether he expects the former Late Late Show host to take a legal action over the affair, Bakhurst did not expect so, 'but you never know'. Tubridy's agent, Noel Kelly , was mentioned only briefly, but there was no information on the extent of any current dealings of the latter with other RTÉ stars. Two presenters are still paid more than Bakhurst's €250,000 salary under legacy arrangements, but no one will receive more than him in future. After fireworks two summers ago over rampant junketeering and huge severance pay, this was not quite the stuff of high drama.
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- Business
- The Irish Sun
‘Groundhog day' with RTE Dail grilling as bosses defend €77k newsroom promo & Kevin Bakhurst ‘infuriated' by reaction
RTE executives have defended an unfinished newsroom promo which is expected to cost €77,000 plus VAT, a committee has heard. Director of news and current affairs at RTE Deirdre McCarthy said concerns had been raised by staff but she rejected the ad is 'fake news'. She said: 'Some issues were raised and an awful lot of the misinformation has come from a leak to the media from an internal editorial meeting that took place last Thursday.' Deputy director of RTE Adrian Lynch, who said he is responsible for the ad, said three to four people are currently in RTE director general Kevin Bakhurst said he was 'infuriated' by the reaction to the filming of the promotional clip. Read more in News He told TDs and Senators at the committee: 'A significant amount of the press coverage has been totally inaccurate about it.' When asked about props used during the filming by He added: 'Even when you're filming news interviews, sometimes people wear make-up, they have lighting, you might move a plant so the shot looks better, and I would expect that of our highly professional promotions team. 'There's been some coverage about, you know, extras being brought in. Most read in Irish News 'The proper conversations were had about this between our marketing team, who were doing this, and the news management team about how we were going to do it. 'The initial request was, can some journalists from the newsroom sit in the background - they're going to be blurred out - can they sit in the background while we're filming this for several hours and the answer was 'No our journalists are too busy'.' Bombshell moment RTE boss Kevin Bakhurst reveals ex-CFO Breda O'Keeffe paid €450k to leave He also said RTE had 'just spent €50,000 doing up parts of the newsroom' and the cost of filming the promo came out of RTE's annual two million euro marketing budget. Senior RTE figures appeared before the In 2023 the broadcaster was sharply criticised over a series of governance and financial scandals which further fuelled a years-long trend in declining TV licence revenue. The Government agreed a €725 million financing programme for the crisis-hit national broadcaster over the next three years, coming from Exchequer-funded top-ups to licence fee sales. 'GROUNDHOG DAY' Deputy Micheal Carrigy referenced 'groundhog day', while addressing the Director General and said that it took 'a news agency and a letter' to address the issue with the IT system. 'We should have transparency at all times', he said, adding 'we had a number of hearings in the past, and it was like pulling teeth. 'That is not acceptable for an organisation funded by the taxpayer,' he added. RTE executives' appearance came after the broadcaster confirmed it had written down €3.6 million on a partly failed IT system. 'VERY UNFORTUNATE' Mr Bakhurst told the committee while the write-down of public money was 'very unfortunate', it was 'very different from 2023'. He said the main part of the project, an updated finance system, was delivered while the HR element was not. 'Big projects, and particularly big IT projects, can go wrong, and what I've looked back at is how the organisation tried to salvage that, and what are the lessons learned from that.' He said one example of the changes made as a result is that every month the full list of significant capital projects now go to the leadership team. Fianna Fail TD Padraig O'Sullivan asked if RTE had received two payments of €75,000 from former presenter Bakhurst said: 'The answer is Ryan Tubridy has not paid that money back. 'We've asked him, on a legal basis as I've said previously, but I would like him to pay that back, obviously.' 1 RTE director general Kevin Bakhurst said he was 'infuriated' by the reaction Credit: Brian Lawless/PA Wire
Glasgow Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Glasgow Times
RTE executives defend newsroom promo expected to cost 77,000 euro
The advertisement aims to portray 'a day in the life' of three RTE journalists and has been in production for months, TDs were told. Director of news and current affairs at RTE Deirdre McCarthy said concerns had been raised by staff but she rejected the ad is 'fake news'. She said: 'Some issues were raised and an awful lot of the misinformation has come from a leak to the media from an internal editorial meeting that took place last Thursday.' Deputy director of RTE Adrian Lynch, who said he is responsible for the ad, said three to four people are currently in Brussels to film part of the promo. RTE director general Kevin Bakhurst said he was 'infuriated' by the reaction to the filming of the promotional clip. 'A significant amount of the press coverage has been totally inaccurate about it,' he told TDs and Senators at the committee. When asked about props used during the filming by Fianna Fail TD Peter 'Chap' Cleere, Mr Bakhurst said two plants were moved from elsewhere in RTE to cover up electrical points during filming before being put back. 'Even when you're filming news interviews, sometimes people wear make-up, they have lighting, you might move a plant so the shot looks better, and I would expect that of our highly professional promotions team. 'There's been some coverage about, you know, extras being brought in. 'The proper conversations were had about this between our marketing team, who were doing this, and the news management team about how we were going to do it. 'The initial request was, can some journalists from the newsroom sit in the background – they're going to be blurred out – can they sit in the background while we're filming this for several hours and the answer was 'No our journalists are too busy'.' He also said RTE had 'just spent 50,000 euro doing up parts of the newsroom' and the cost of filming the promo came out of RTE's annual two million euro marketing budget. Senior RTE figures appeared before the Oireachtas media committee on Wednesday for the first time since the new Dail was formed. In 2023 the broadcaster was sharply criticised over a series of governance and financial scandals which further fuelled a years-long trend in declining TV licence revenue. The Government agreed a 725 million-euro financing programme for the crisis-hit national broadcaster over the next three years, coming from Exchequer-funded top-ups to licence fee sales. RTE executives' appearance before the committee on Wednesday came after the broadcaster confirmed it had written down 3.6 million euro on a partly failed IT system. Mr Bakhurst told the committee while the write-down of public money was 'very unfortunate', it was 'very different from 2023'. He said the main part of the project, an updated finance system, was delivered while the HR element was not. 'Big projects, and particularly big IT projects, can go wrong, and what I've looked back at is how the organisation tried to salvage that, and what are the lessons learned from that.' Director general Kevin Bakhurst was among the RTE executives to address the committee (PA) He said one example of the changes made as a result is that every month the full list of significant capital projects now go to the leadership team. RTE's HR director Eimear Cusack told the committee the project was properly managed. 'I was responsible for the HR element and the HR requirements. We went through a tender process,' she said. 'There were a number of vendors who participated in that process. 'The final bids, we had external evaluation of those bids to ensure that we were picking the right providers and that was the result. 'The project ran into a number of difficulties. 'I think, that there were a number of issues that arose, particularly between the contractor and the subcontractor.' When put to her that the spec was not right, the right contractor was not chosen and it was not properly project managed, she said: 'I couldn't agree with that. 'We put in our requirements, the contractor and the subcontractor who won the tender said that they could deliver on those requirements. 'Ultimately, the finance system was delivered upon. 'The HR system, they could not deliver on, but that was not known at the time that they signed up and they said they could deliver on it.' Chairman of the RTE board Terence O'Rourke, RTE chief financial officer Mari Hurley and director of commercial Gavin Deans also appeared before committee. Ms Hurley said there was a 4% decline in TV licence fee revenues in 2024 compared to 2023. 'The more significant declines that have been experienced in 23 have been averted,' she said.
North Wales Chronicle
7 days ago
- Business
- North Wales Chronicle
RTE executives defend newsroom promo expected to cost 77,000 euro
The advertisement aims to portray 'a day in the life' of three RTE journalists and has been in production for months, TDs were told. Director of news and current affairs at RTE Deirdre McCarthy said concerns had been raised by staff but she rejected the ad is 'fake news'. She said: 'Some issues were raised and an awful lot of the misinformation has come from a leak to the media from an internal editorial meeting that took place last Thursday.' Deputy director of RTE Adrian Lynch, who said he is responsible for the ad, said three to four people are currently in Brussels to film part of the promo. RTE director general Kevin Bakhurst said he was 'infuriated' by the reaction to the filming of the promotional clip. 'A significant amount of the press coverage has been totally inaccurate about it,' he told TDs and Senators at the committee. When asked about props used during the filming by Fianna Fail TD Peter 'Chap' Cleere, Mr Bakhurst said two plants were moved from elsewhere in RTE to cover up electrical points during filming before being put back. 'Even when you're filming news interviews, sometimes people wear make-up, they have lighting, you might move a plant so the shot looks better, and I would expect that of our highly professional promotions team. 'There's been some coverage about, you know, extras being brought in. 'The proper conversations were had about this between our marketing team, who were doing this, and the news management team about how we were going to do it. 'The initial request was, can some journalists from the newsroom sit in the background – they're going to be blurred out – can they sit in the background while we're filming this for several hours and the answer was 'No our journalists are too busy'.' He also said RTE had 'just spent 50,000 euro doing up parts of the newsroom' and the cost of filming the promo came out of RTE's annual two million euro marketing budget. Senior RTE figures appeared before the Oireachtas media committee on Wednesday for the first time since the new Dail was formed. In 2023 the broadcaster was sharply criticised over a series of governance and financial scandals which further fuelled a years-long trend in declining TV licence revenue. The Government agreed a 725 million-euro financing programme for the crisis-hit national broadcaster over the next three years, coming from Exchequer-funded top-ups to licence fee sales. RTE executives' appearance before the committee on Wednesday came after the broadcaster confirmed it had written down 3.6 million euro on a partly failed IT system. Mr Bakhurst told the committee while the write-down of public money was 'very unfortunate', it was 'very different from 2023'. He said the main part of the project, an updated finance system, was delivered while the HR element was not. 'Big projects, and particularly big IT projects, can go wrong, and what I've looked back at is how the organisation tried to salvage that, and what are the lessons learned from that.' He said one example of the changes made as a result is that every month the full list of significant capital projects now go to the leadership team. RTE's HR director Eimear Cusack told the committee the project was properly managed. 'I was responsible for the HR element and the HR requirements. We went through a tender process,' she said. 'There were a number of vendors who participated in that process. 'The final bids, we had external evaluation of those bids to ensure that we were picking the right providers and that was the result. 'The project ran into a number of difficulties. 'I think, that there were a number of issues that arose, particularly between the contractor and the subcontractor.' When put to her that the spec was not right, the right contractor was not chosen and it was not properly project managed, she said: 'I couldn't agree with that. 'We put in our requirements, the contractor and the subcontractor who won the tender said that they could deliver on those requirements. 'Ultimately, the finance system was delivered upon. 'The HR system, they could not deliver on, but that was not known at the time that they signed up and they said they could deliver on it.' Chairman of the RTE board Terence O'Rourke, RTE chief financial officer Mari Hurley and director of commercial Gavin Deans also appeared before committee. Ms Hurley said there was a 4% decline in TV licence fee revenues in 2024 compared to 2023. 'The more significant declines that have been experienced in 23 have been averted,' she said.
