Minister for Media Catherine Martin took the correct decision in relation to RTÉ and the recent payments scandal, the Tánaiste has said.
The Minister had put the necessary reviews in place and it was now up to RTÉ and the new director general to “get on with it”, Micheál Martin told RTÉ radio’s News at One.
The Tánaiste reiterated the Government’s commitment to public service broadcasting and pointed out that in previous years interim funding had been provided. He said such support would be examined again.
“Obviously, Government would be anxious for reforms in terms of financial sustainability into the future and also that the domestic public service remit would continue. But the Minister obviously is meeting today with the chair and the director general and will be discussing these issues with him.”
When asked about recommendations from the Future of Media Commission about funding for RTÉ, Mr Martin said he had been consistently of the view that the licence fee should be replaced with “a universal charge based on a household charge, based on devices, in order to provide for public service media in general, not just in terms of broadcasting in RTÉ, but also in the context of print and other media, local and national, whereby we would have a very sustainable revenue base.”
There was a danger of blurring the lines between Government and media in terms of editorial independence which was “absolutely vital in a democracy,” he said.
Future governments could decide to cut funding if they were dissatisfied with a particular approach taken by media. “I am pretty passionate about the idea of democracy and freedom of expression, freedom of media. I prefer ultimately a methodology or a mechanism that ensures independence between media and government. But I do accept the basic tenet of the Commission's position that the existing funding situation is not sustainable and is not adequate.”
Minister for Media Catherine Martin has been very much on top of the issue. She had correctly set up the various reviews and was going to await the outcome of those. In the meantime it was up to RTÉ and the director general Kevin Bakhurst to “get on with it.”
The Minister was not operationally running RTÉ nor should any Minister, or give the appearance of doing so. It was up to RTÉ to drive the necessary change and reform to achieve the “authoritative, coherent leadership that is required.”
