Tipperary TD Alan Kelly raised the issue of a social media post by RTE 2FM presenter Dave Fanning at the Public Accounts Committee hearing with members of the Board and Management of RTE. Mr Fanning described the appearance of Ryan Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly Fanning at two Oireachtas meetings this week as a “nonsensical Oireachtas Nuremberg trial” that “we all need a distraction from”. Mr Fanning made the comment on his Twitter account and has since deleted it. Deputy Kelly says such a description of an Oireachtas committee by an employee in a state company was not acceptable. RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst agreed the comment was not appropriate. Mr Fanning has since apologised for the comment – Noel Kelly acts as an agent on behalf of Mr Fanning.
The Nenagh based TD is also highly critical of RTE management as regards documentation it is making available to the Committee as it investigates financial matters at the State Broadcaster. Deputy Kelly says members of the media have access to some emails from former Director General Dee Forbes that have not been supplied to the Committee. RTE have announced that an additional review is to be launched into redundancy packages after the Committee heard claims that only former DG Dee Forbes and former Chief Financial Officer Breda O’Keefe had sight of the terms of a Voluntary Exit Package for Ms O’Keefe in 2020 at a time when the National Union of Journalists says no such package was available for staff. The union is also querying the package as Ms O’Keefe’s position was filled by Mr Richard Collins on her departure.
