Dee Forbes a crucial witness in RTÉ 'financial scandal', says Dillon

Vivienne Clarke

Fine Gael TD Alan Dillon has said that the Public s Committee (PAC) remains hopeful that former director general of RTÉ Dee Forbes will come before the committee “when she gets well” as she is a crucial witness “in this financial scandal.”

Mr Dillon told Newstalk Breakfast that evidence from Ms Forbes would go a long way towards restoring public trust in the national broadcaster.

There remained gaps in the evidence that had been presented to the PAC to date, there had been “conflicting stories” and “missing persons testimonies” that were crucial to understanding the chain of events and the decisions made.

RTÉ representatives are expected to provide the review into the alleged payments, he said. “We're still waiting for the 2017 to 2019 Grant Thornton review.” RTÉ have had since last March “to get their house in order” and the PAC was frustrated at the delay in providing this report.

”I can't really understand why it's more complicated to publish an internal report that prompted the investigation. So it's imperative that RTÉ furnish Public s with details of this internal review immediately. We’re all clear in of how much more time they need. So today, we would be expecting that RTÉ would provide details around this."

Mr Dillon also expressed disappointment that Breda O’Keefe would not be attending today’s meeting as it was crucial that individuals who were at the centre of the issue provide assistance “in establishing the facts.”

More information was needed in the form of detailed documentation and evidence to the claims by Noel Kelly and Ryan Tubridy into the extra €120,000 payment.

Mr Dillon questioned “the plausibility” of Mr Tubridy and Mr Kelly’s claims that the payments were part of a separate commercial arrangement with Renault.

The Public s Committee was seeking ability “at all levels to establish a clear framework of decision-making that allowed for this secret payment to happen.”

However, he said it was very difficult to make a conclusive assessment without hearing from the former DG Dee Forbes. “I think she is crucial to providing a comprehensive examination of the evidence to clarify the arrangement and its compliance with regulation.

“She is a crucial witness to this financial scandal that has rocked RTÉ. And certainly she and her evidence will go a long way to rebuild trust in our national broadcaster.”