Let’s get this straight. Tom Savage and Terry Prone formed, run, own and operate the Communications Clinic along with their son Anton Savage and Terry never told Tom that the Irish Missionaries Union were one of their clients? The priests in good fairth hired the Communicatons Clinic to represent their best interests in the event of any fallout from the then impending broadcast of the infamous ‘Mission to Prey’ Prime Time Investigates programme last May. Tom has assured us all and the Minister for Communicatoins, Pat Rabbitte that the first he knew of any problem or serous issues with the programme were September. Yeah Right!!
It’s high time that Mr Savage seriously considered his position as Chair of the RTE Authority before he inflicts any further reputational damage to the State broadcaster. You cannot serve a string of political, clerical and corporate clients as well as the best public interest or public service broadcasting in terms of its independence and impartiality. This was an accident waiting to happen. Tom Savage, I’m sure is an honorable and honest man, but he was an inappropriate appointment for the post of heading up RTE due to his glaring conflict of interests due to the nature of his PR and spindoctoring business in the whole realm of news and current affairs.
The public interest and the best interests of RTE must now be put before that of Tom Savage and the Communications Clinic once and for all. I rest my case.

I’m sorry – client confidentiality would be relevant – though somewhat unbelievable – if TCC was a Terry Prone vehicle only.

Is Mr Savage saying that the IMU retained Terry in her own right rather than through the Communications Clinic. I find that rather hard to believe and if this is in fact the case the very least he could do is show us the contract.

The fact of the matter is that Mr Savage is described on the RTE website as “current chairman” of TCC and Terry Prone’s PR work is (as far as I am aware) done through the vehicle of TCC, of which she is a director.

In the circumstances I can’t see how client confidentiality could apply since as a director of TCC Mr Savage would be entitled – and indeed arguably obliged – to know what was going on in the company.

Perhaps Mr Savage and Ms Prone would like to explain this, because, frankly, I’m perplexed at how ‘client confidentiality’ could possibly apply here.

I wrote to Pat Rabbitte (Minister for the Communications Clinic) last November to highlight the clear conflict of interest Mr.Savage has by being both Chairman of the RTE Board and once of their service providers.
Apart from not believing a word out of Mrs.Savage’s mouth, client confidentiality would not be an issue internally within an organisation (managers always know who’s on their books) and given Mr.Savage’s clerical past he would have been once of TCC’s best assets for dealing with IMU (if not the point of contact).

Spin doctors, like lobbyists, should be obliged to list their clients. Irish society, government funding, pool of quangos, political and media circles are too small.

Here’s a wee bit on The Communication Clinic from last year.

http://soundmigration.wordpress.com/2011/12/01/why-pr-companies-like-tcc-wont-ever-own-the-interwebs/

Ah here, I’m all for fair play and innocent until proven guilty and all that, but does Mrs.Prone think we came down in the last shower or what? I think if you looked up the meaning of “conflict of interest” , I am pretty confident, the example would be pretty much exactly what happened in this instance!

How would the BBC deal with this affair? Rabbite is obviously content to sit on his hands. How government changes politicians.

Unbelievable, no I mean unbelievable!

Only in Ireland, Strange how Pat Rabbitte met with the board of RTE, no heads rolled, then RTE offer Inda a free speech on National TV. Nothing in it, pure conspiracy theory on my part ;)

Tom savage’s appearance before the committee last week was pure spin. He pulled the heartstrings talking about his clerical background. Terry needs to spend less time buying shoes and cook him the odd meal.

when in a hole….

It bates Banagher !
Who is fooling who ?
Let’s see how Minister Rabbitte deals with this ? Another early morning coffee and doughnuts or swift decisive action in the public interest .

Would’nt it be great to see some real accountability in this republic ? I hope we have learned from the debacle with the FAS chairman some years ago !
History would hardly repeat itself

The Irish Times dealt with this issue this morning.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0530/1224316916330.html