Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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6. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if, given her expressed intention to bring RTÉ under the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General, she will support the Broadcasting (Oversight of RTÉ Accounts) (Amendment) Bill 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37064/24]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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This question relates to an expressed intention of the Minister in her statement that RTÉ should be brought under the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General. If that is the intention, would she support the passage of the Broadcasting (Oversight of RTÉ Accounts) (Amendment) Bill 2024, which I published and which has gone through First Stage in this House, and will she make a statement on the matter?

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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On 7 May this year, the Government accepted in principle 116 recommendations made by the expert advisory committees appointed to carry out reviews of RTÉ relating to governance and culture, contractor fees, HR and other matters. The re-assignment of the Comptroller and Auditor General as auditor of RTÉ was a key recommendation of the expert advisory committee on governance and culture, which was chaired by Professor Niamh Brennan, and it is a recommendation that I have strongly welcomed. It has also been recommended by the Public Accounts Committee.

On 25 June, I published an implementation plan setting out how my Department would give effect to the 15 recommendations made by the expert advisory committees, which fall to my Department to implement. The plan identified eight recommendations that require amendments to the Broadcasting Act 2009. In accordance with the implementation plan, my Department is currently finalising the general scheme of a broadcasting (amendment) Bill to reassign the Comptroller and Auditor General as auditor of RTÉ and to reform the legislative basis for the corporate governance of both RTE and TG4. This will include provisions to strengthen the authority, role and functions of their boards and enhance the accountability of the directors general to the boards.

While I agree with the broad principle of the Deputy's Private Member’s Bill, it does not address the range of corporate governance matters made by the expert advisory committees. Importantly, the Deputy's Bill does not contain a provision to make the director general of RTÉ accountable to the public accounts committee for RTÉ’s financial statements or value-for-money matters. Without such a provision, the committee cannot hold the director general to account for these matters.

My Department has been consulting with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, and the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the reassignment of the Comptroller and Auditor General. My Department has also been engaging with the Office of the Attorney General.

My objective is to bring forward a general scheme of broadcasting (amendment) Bill this autumn as a single, comprehensive Bill. As I have said, this will provide not only for the reassignment of the Comptroller and Auditor General as auditor, but also for a range of corporate governance reforms to drive further accountability, transparency and value for money in our public service media providers.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome what the Minister said to a degree, although I do not believe that my Bill could not hold RTÉ accountable to the Committee of Public Accounts. This is because all the Bill intends to do is add RTÉ to the provision that is already there and hold our other national broadcaster to account through the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Committee of Public Accounts. There are no additional provisions within the Bill about TG4 that expand on that. That was the vehicle. It is one of the recommendations that could be passed quite quickly and would address some of the problems with RTÉ, such as its feeling that it was aloof from the rest of society and that it was not accountable for its spending. It needs to happen quickly, and that is why I am asking if the Government can support my Bill and pass it, rather than waiting and waiting, as we have done with other legislation.

The suggestion here seems to be that it will be a number of months, if not years, before the other eight recommendations are implemented in full.

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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The Deputy will not be waiting and waiting. The general scheme of the Bill will be introduced this autumn as a single, comprehensive Bill. The Bill must address a number of key recommendations as well as the assignment of the C and AG, and that is my intention. We are at the final stages of the drafting of the general scheme. A core measure in the Bill is the assignment of the C and AG as auditor of RTÉ, but other key corporate governance matters must be addressed through the Broadcasting Act 2009. For example, I intend to strengthen the role, functions and duties of the boards of other public service media providers. This will involve setting out the functions of the boards in detail, including the role of the bodies responsible for setting the strategic direction. The duties of board members will also be expanded. Importantly, the directors general will be made directly accountable in legislation to their respective boards for operational matters.

It is not a case of waiting and waiting. My objective, which will happen, is to introduce the general scheme this autumn as a single, comprehensive Bill.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the timetable, but there is only a month left in autumn. Hopefully, addressing all of the complexities involved will not delay the Bill’s passage. Among the public and in this House, there has been a demand over the years, not just because of the most recent scandals in RTÉ, for the station to be held to account for how it spends public moneys. For years, it has been one of those organisations that was involved in bogus self-employment and other issues. I hope the general scheme will address matters and that there will be no delay. I appeal to the Minister to consider, if possible, asking for pre-legislative scrutiny of her Bill to be waived so that we can ensure its passage before the Government’s term concludes.

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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It is my intention to introduce the general scheme in the autumn. I am fully aware of what months are in autumn, so the Deputy will understand what I am saying. Importantly, these reforms will drive accountability, transparency and value for money in our public service media providers. There is a provision in the Broadcasting Act to hold TG4’s director general accountable to the PAC.

My intention with the Bill is to address all of the recommendations on the roles of the DGs and boards as well as the assignment of the C and AG as outlined in the implementation plan.