Full RTÉ executive did not ‘sign off’ on exit package for finance chief

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

The voluntary redundancy package for former RTÉ chief financial officer Breda O’Keeffe was not signed off by every member of the broadcaster’s executive, the Public Accounts Committee has been told.

Ms O’Keeffe left the organisation in 2020.

Current chief financial officer Richard Collins said he was on the executive board when the payment to his predecessor was made but not when it was agreed.

Mr Collins said: “I knew nothing about that package, Breda never explained anything about it, the director-general [Dee Forbes] never did.”

Interim deputy-director general Adrian Lynch was also on the executive board at the time but said he only became aware she exited through the voluntary redundancy scheme last week.

Labour TD Alan Kelly said all members of the executive team were supposed to sign off on such packages.

Mr Lynch said this was “absolutely factually correct”.

Asked by Mr Kelly how he could not have signed off on the package, Mr Lynch said: “It never came to us for sign off.”

New director-general Kevin Bakhurst said the matter was being examined.

“This is an issue that I take very seriously because this is exactly about bringing significant decisions to the executive.”

Mr Kelly also said that RTÉ needed to investigate if there were other instances of the voluntary redundancy scheme in which the post was not suppressed – which he said was the case for Ms O’Keeffe’s role.

Later in the committee, which sat for four-and-a-half hours, Mr Lynch interjected during a gap in questioning seeking to make a “point of clarification”.

Mr Lynch said: “I received a text from the former CFO, just to say she would dispute the idea that nobody in the exec board knew…”

There was consternation in the chamber as Mr Lynch was interrupted to be told the committee could not accept second-hand evidence.

Ms O’Keeffe had told the public accounts committee she would not attend on Thursday as she had nothing further to add to her contributions to the media committee last week.

Following admonishment from several members of the committee, Mr Lynch sought to defend his contribution regarding the text message.

“I received a text, whatever it was, 20 minutes ago.

“I thought it was very important having made a statement in front of the house that that should be correct with that information.

“I thought it was material.”