LAST UPDATE | 16 Jan

RTÉ CHIEF FINANCIAL Officer Mari Hurley has resigned from the position less than 18 months after starting the role to take up a new post outside of the national broadcaster.

She is set to take up the role of chief financial officer at Ires Reit, Ireland’s largest private landlord, the company confirmed this morning. 

In a statement released last night, RTÉ said Hurley will remain with the broadcaster until spring. RTÉ will soon seek applications for a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Hurley will be replacing outgoing Ires Reit CFO Brian Fagan, who spent five years in the role. 

Ires CEO Eddie Byrne said in a statement this morning:

“Mari has an extensive and highly successful track record as a CFO across private, semi-state and listed companies, spanning a wide range of sectors – including property – with operations across multiple international markets.

“Her depth of experience will be a significant and complementary addition to I-RES as we continue to play a vital role in addressing the country’s ongoing residential accommodation needs, and I look forward to welcoming her to the team.”

Hurley took the role of CFO at RTÉ after the Ryan Tubridy controversy following Richard Collins departure, whose exit package payment caused another controversy for the embattled broadcaster.

RTÉ Director Kevin Bakhurst thanked Hurley for her efforts in a “challenging time” for the organisation and thanked her for “putting the organisation back on a financially sustainable path”.

In a statement released last night, he said the former CFO has been “meticulous in dealing with legacy issues as we put a robust governance framework in place for the future”.

Hurley was previously CFO at several large companies, including Premier Lotteries, Hostelworld, AA and the Sherry Fitzgerald Group. She also studied executive management at Harvard Business School in the US.

Commenting on her resignation, Hurley said the work RTÉ did during her tenure was important to deliver “greater governance across the organisation”.

“RTÉ continues to perform a vital role for Irish audiences as a public service media organisation,” she said.

“I would like to wish Kevin, the Board and all my colleagues at RTÉ every success as they continue the significant transformation programme underway at RTÉ”.

Last night, a spokesperson for Media Minister Patrick O’Donovan confirmed he had been informed of the resignation in a statement, although it appears that information had been given to him in confidence and that O’Donovan jumped the gun in confirming Hurley’s departure. 

“The Minister wishes to thank Ms Hurley for her service and wishes her well in the future,” last night’s statement said.

“He will be engaging with the Chair and Director General of RTÉ in the coming days,” it added.

Speaking to RTÉ’s David McCullagh on the radio this morning, O’Donovan disagreed that he had preempted the broadcaster’s own announcement, before admitting he wasn’t aware that RTÉ had meant to inform Hurley’s team this morning. 

O’Donovan said his office had received multiple requests from media outlets seeking confirmation of the news, but McCullagh told him: “You were the source of the news.” 

“No, that’s not the case,” O’Donovan replied. It turned out that it was the case. 

“You were in a position to confirm that because you’d been informed confidentially that it was to be announced this morning,” McCullagh said.  

“I was informed in my role as minister and I subsequently informed both the Taoiseach’s office and the Tánaiste’s office. I then was contacted by members of the media through my press advisor and, as I say, we wished Mari Hurley the very best of luck,” O’Donovan said. 

With reporting from David Mac Redmond