RTE chair to be appointed on Tuesday alongside two other board members

The Government is to appoint a new chair of the RTE board along with two new board members on Tuesday, the Taoiseach has confirmed.

Leo Varadkar said the appointments will be an important step forward for the broadcaster.

The Minister for Media Catherine Martin will bring the names to the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning.

Mr Varadkar said that, while it had been “difficult” to find people to appoint amid the ongoing controversies, it has not been “impossible”.

The appointments come amid continuing turmoil at RTE, including the resignation of board member PJ Mathews last week, shortly after board chairwoman Siun Ni Raghallaigh quit following much-criticised comments from the media minister.

Ms Martin refused to express confidence in Ms Ni Raghallaigh during a live television appearance, saying she had been misinformed about the chairwoman’s role in approving an exit package for an RTE executive.

Ms Ni Raghallaigh resigned hours later, leaving the board without a chairperson at a critical time for RTE.

Mr Varadkar said he expects the final two reports on RTE will be published within weeks.

“Minister Martin will bring the name of a new chairperson and some new board members to cabinet tomorrow,” Mr Varadkar added.

“That’ll be an important step forward in making sure that there’s a fully functioning board for RTE.

“The government wants to see the final set of reports, the reports on the governance of RTE and how we can make sure that it runs better and operates better into the future.

“We expect to have them in a matter of weeks and then be able to make a decision on future funding.”

The Fine Gael leader said he also supports the idea to give the Office of the Comptroller & Auditor General oversight of RTE’s finances.