A MEETING HELD today between the RTÉ board and Media Minister Catherine Martin has been described as “positive” by both parties.
Today’s meeting follows the turbulent events at the national broadcaster over the last number of weeks that saw the board’s chair Súin Ní Raghallaigh resign in dramatic fashion.
The board released a statement in which it said the chair had “no option” but to resign after the minister repeatedly refused to express confidence in her in a Prime Time interview.
Minister Martin was then grilled at an Oireachtas Committee this week over her handling of the situation.
After today’s meeting, Martin described it as “positive and forward looking”, while the board echoed that assessment, saying the meeting was “open and constructive” and focused on the future of RTÉ.
Both statements said the minister had been brought up to speed on the activities of the board regarding reforms at RTÉ.
“I expressed my appreciation for the significant commitment which the Board has demonstrated over what has been a very difficult eight months,” said Martin.
The board also said it looked forward to the appointment of a new chair and new board members.
Martin said her “immediate focus” was finding a new chair and new board members “very shortly”.
Meanwhile, RTÉ has today announced the appointment of Mari Hurley as its new Chief Financial Officer, while also losing yet another member of the board, PJ Matthews, for “work-related reasons”.
Hurley’s appointment follows the departure of former CFO Richard Collins, whose exit package payment has caused yet another controversy for the embattled broadcaster in recent weeks.
Hurley has extensive experience, having been CFO at large companies, including Premier Lotteries, Hostelworld, AA and the Sherry Fitzgerald Group. She also studied executive management at the prestigious Harvard Business School in the US.
Responding to her appointment, Hurley said was “delighted” to join the broadcaster’s leadership team at a “critical time for the organisation”.
She said she was looking forward to bringing her experience of “successfully leading and implementing change and transformation” to RTÉ.
RTÉ’s director-general Kevin Bakhurst said Hurley is “a highly experienced CFO with extensive experience in setting and driving the strategic direction of global businesses”.
On the departure of PJ Matthews, both the board and Martin paid tribute his contribution to RTÉ.
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