Catherine Martin has handled RTÉ crisis 'very badly', says Shortall

Media Minister Catherine Martin is to come before the Oireachtas media committee on Tuesday at 7pm.

Media Minister Catherine Martin has handled the ongoing RTÉ crisis “very badly”, Social Democrats TD Róisín Shortall has said.

Speaking at Leinster House this morning, Ms Shortall said that while Ms Martin has handled other areas of her brief very well, there was a “serious blunder” last week leading to the resignation of the RTÉ board chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh.

Asked if she had confidence in Ms Martin, Ms Shortall said: “Look, she’s made a lot of mistakes. That’s a matter for her colleagues. It’s a matter for her party leader. It’s a matter for the Taoiseach essentially.

“The most important thing is what we’re saying now, that those errors, those blunders have to be recognised, they have to be corrected and we need to get RTÉ back on a proper, sound financial footing.” 

The former co-leader of the Social Democrats added that, despite Ms Ní Raghallaigh informing the media department of the approval of exit packages, the “minister didn’t seem to be aware of that at all”.

Ms Shortall said that it was “regrettable” that the former Secretary General of the Department of Media, Katherine Licken, would not be attending this evening’s Oireachtas committee meeting to explain this issue.

“Given that Siún Ní Raghallaigh contacted the Secretary General, the Secretary General says she didn’t really recollect the full detail of that.

“She claims that Siún Ní Raghallaigh only informed her that the independent mediation process had come to a conclusion.

“Now, did the Secretary General say thanks very much and hang up at that point? Surely the question was asked: ‘Well, so where is it at now? Has it been approved? Is that in writing?’” 

Ms Shortall also questioned whether or not it was a standard procedure for senior officials in Government departments not to take a note when they are provided with “an important piece of information by phone call”.

“These are all answers that we need to get from Minister Martin and her officials today,” she added.