Former RTÉ chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh made an attempt to speak to Minister for Media Catherine Martin by phone and threatened to resign a number of times during a dramatic day of events last month.
New documents sent to the Oireachtas Media Committee show a number of exchanges between Ms Ní Raghallaigh and Ms Martin in the lead up to the former chair’s resignation.
Ms Martin wrote to the committee chair, Niamh Smyth, outlining the timeline of events, as well as the letter she sent to Ms Ní Raghallaigh on February 22nd expressing her deep disappointment that she had been given incorrect information.
The Minister also set out the dates she met with the former RTÉ chair, which shows the pair held meetings on 12 occasions since the crisis within the national broadcaster erupted.
The documents also show there was a long gap between meetings at the end of last year, when the pair met on November 9th but did not meet again until January 23rd.
This is despite the Minister telling the Oireachtas committee that she held monthly meetings with the former chair.
It was revealed that almost 12 hours before Ms Ní Raghallaigh resigned, she told the secretary general of Ms Martin’s department that she was unhappy at the prospect of receiving a letter from the Minister which would reflect her disappointment at being given wrong information.
Ms Ní Raghallaigh said the receipt of such a letter would demonstrate a lack of confidence in her as chair, and that she felt she would be unable to remain in the position.
The secretary general and Ms Ní Raghallaigh spoke by phone again at 6.45pm on February 22nd, during which the former chair was told that the Minister would issue a letter and seek a formal meeting.
Ms Ní Raghallaigh was told about Ms Martin’s scheduled appearance on Prime Time and that if the Minister was probed about the issue, she “could not conceal” she had been given the wrong information.
Appearing on Prime Time later that evening, the Minister said she was disappointed in Ms Ní Raghallaigh, saying she had been misinformed about the chair’s role in approving an exit package for former RTÉ chief financial officer Richard Collins.
During the evening phone call, Ms Ní Raghallaigh said she was unhappy at being called to another meeting that week and that she would resign should she receive a letter calling her to such meeting.
The former chair said she would be happy to speak to Ms Martin on the phone.
The documents also show the letter Ms Martin sent to Ms Ní Raghallaigh, which states that the Minister queried if there was any board involvement in approving the severance package for Mr Collins.
“You advised me that the Board had no role. You have today clarified that this was an error and that the Remuneration Committee approved the severance package in relation to Mr Collins on 10 October 2023,” Ms Martin wrote.
“I am deeply disappointed that I did not receive the correct information on this important matter.
“I would like to meet you tomorrow at 10am to discuss these matters further.”
At around 1am the following morning, Ms Ní Raghallaigh resigned from her position.
Meanwhile, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has suggested that Ms Martin does not need to wait for an Oireachtas committee appearance to answer further questions on the dispute.
Prior to the publication of Ms Ní Raghallaigh’s statement earlier this week, the minister gave her account of the dispute during a three-and-a-half hour session of the Oireachtas media committee.
Various Government members and their spokespeople have suggested she would be willing to appear before the committee again, but this may be weeks away.
Defending his party's deputy leader on Wednesday, Mr Ryan said: “I think Catherine’s position is absolutely clear and correct and she will of course answer further questions in due course.”
However, he added: “She doesn’t need to go back, in my mind, into an Oireachtas committee to do that.”
Mr Ryan also said Ms Martin is “dogged and determined” about raising and protecting revenue for the media industry.
One of the charges levelled at Ms Martin by the former chair is that she failed to assist in slowing the decline in TV licence revenues by refusing to tell licence payers what to do.
During the early stages of the expanding RTÉ controversy, Ms Martin was asked by reporters in July if she would urge people to pay their TV licence.
She replied: “I’m not going to advise anyone. We must remember the good of public service broadcasting, we must remember the staff when people are making these decisions.”
When further asked about the comments, Mr Ryan reiterated: “I can tell you from experience seeing Catherine in action, she has consistently made the case to Government colleagues that we have to come to a decision on the funding of RTÉ.
“On that she has been absolutely resolute, and I think she’s right.”
