Minister Pat Rabbitte Meets with RTÉ Board

Pat Rabbitte met with The RTÉ Board this morning. This follows the BAI report into the Prime Time: Investigates programme, called Mission To Prey. The BAI was published last Friday. The minister requested the meeting and lasted over 2 hours. The RTÉ Board told the minister that the programme had grievously wronged Fr. Reynolds and that RTÉ was at fault in this regard. The BAI fined RTÉ €200,000 and the report has caused the many involved in the show to either leave the broadcaster or to move away from News and Current Affairs at the Broadcaster.

The meeting was robust and detailed. The discussion included a detailed account of the events that led up to the broadcast of the programme. The board also outlined the actions that they have taken since then and the steps required to take to re-establish public trust in RTÉ.

Minister Rabbitte said “The matter caused grave damage not only to Fr Kevin Reynolds but also to the reputation of RTÉ.”

“Arising from the meeting I have agreed that the Board will provide me, within a week, with a detailed report on all of the steps they are taking to address the serious systemic short-comings that have been exposed by this case. These steps will include Board oversight measures. The Board has also agreed to submit a quarterly monitoring report to me that will be used to measure how the new processes and arrangements are being embedded into the organization as a whole. The response of the Board and the organization in taking the necessary action will therefore be subject to scrutiny and measurement. The Board is in no doubt that full implementation of all measures is necessary.”

 

Categories

Ireland/Politics

Crime

Entertainment

Business/Economy