New laws governing RTÉ and reforming defamation unlikely to pass before general election
Despite the scandals at the national broadcaster, government backing for the hiring and firing of a new director general will be dropped.
The last two appointments of RTÉ heads have been mired in controversies.
Former Montrose chief Dee Forbes was chosen from outside RTÉ by the board, ahead of inside candidates including current director general Kevin Bakhurst.
The board of RTÉ also tried to fire Ms Forbes over the Ryan Tubridy payments scandal. She went out on leave just weeks before her term in office ended.
Mr Bakhurst’s appointment process last year was stalled after a row on the board over An Post chief executive David McRedmond, a former head of TV3 (now Virgin Media), being ruled out for the role.
Mr Bakhurst was ultimately appointed with the Government’s official “consent”, following a cabinet decision, in line with the broadcasting laws.
Now the Government is planning to leave the appointment of the director general entirely up to the board of RTÉ to decide.
The change follows EU media freedom laws to “guarantee the independence of public service media providers”.
The Government will approve a batch of changes to RTÉ’s governance following the year of scandals at the national broadcaster.
The new laws will include RTÉ coming under the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General. This means the state finance watchdog will be able to routinely examine the broadcaster’s books.
There will be new rules around the “assessment of the performance and funding of the public service media providers”, specifically RTÉ and TG4. And there will be regulations around the public service content by the wider media sector, beyond RTÉ.
Back in the summer, the Government approved funding of €725m for RTÉ over the next three years and decided to leave the €160 TV licence fee in place.
The new legislation has a specific section on the “appointment and dismissal of the directors general of RTÉ and TG4”. The bill also removes the legally enshrined role of the Government in formally consenting to the appointment of a director general.
The Government says the move is in compliance with the European Media Freedom Act.
The Cabinet will approve the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill today, but it is unlikely the legislation will be passed before the upcoming general election.
The long-delayed reform of the defamation laws is also highly unlikely to be passed before the general election. The new law will see juries abolished in defamation cases, penalise those taking lawsuits to prevent criticism and reduce legal costs.
The Coalition says several pieces of legislation have to be passed before the election, particularly the Finance Bill and Social Welfare Bill, which bring the Budget 2025 measures into effect.
However, several government sources have said the Defamation Bill and the Mental Health Bill will not be passed in time.
The passing of the bills will then fall to the next government. However, there is no guarantee a new government will leave the legislation intact.
