RTÉ sport presenter returns car after five years

Marty Morrissey described the incident as an "error of judgement"

An RTÉ sports presenter has been identified as the employee who returned a complimentary vehicle to Renault after five years.

Marty Morrissey has apologised for what he described as an "error of judgement".

The revelation regarding the vehicle came at a meeting of the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) media committee on Wednesday.

In a statement, Mr Morrissey said he had been granted permission by RTÉ to host a number events at Renault garages throughout Ireland in 2017.

He said he had not sought a fee for the engagements and instead was offered a car by Renault.

RTÉ has been under pressure since it emerged in June that month controversial payments amounting to €345,000 (£296,800) were made to its top presenter Ryan Tubridy.

Mr Morrisey said that following the controversy he reflected on his use of the car and decided it may have been an "error of judgement".

He said he returned the car to Renault on 23 June.

Mr Morrissey said he had "never been appointed a brand ambassador for Renault".

"As far as I was concerned, my use of the car was always a very ad hoc arrangement which did not affect my work with RTÉ," he said.

Mr Morrissey added he had never had a car allowance from RTÉ.

The presenter said he had apologised to colleagues about "any embarrassment or difficulty" the incident had caused.

"It was never my intention to let anyone down, least of all myself."

Kevin Bakhurst takes up the director general role on Monday

The revelation came as Kevin Bakhurst, the incoming director general at RTÉ, said his first job was to restore trust.

He will take up the top job at the broadcaster on Monday.

Mr Bakhurst, who was formerly a senior executive at the BBC and British media regulator Ofcom, previously suggested he was prepared to "reconstitute" the broadcaster's national board.

Speaking following Thursday's meeting, he said: "My job is to restore trust, clearly that's been severely damaged.

"Again, I apologise for that. But that's my job, to restore trust in this organisation."

Asked if he had confidence in the organisation's executive board, Mr Bakhurst said he would reveal further details on Monday.

"There are individuals involved here, I need to talk to them and also want to talk to staff before I come out and say something publicly," he told reporters.

Catherine Martin criticised the drip-feed of information

In a statement, Ms Martin criticised the "drip feed" of information that came out of RTÉ over the course of a number of Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) committee hearings.

It was revealed at Wednesday's hearing that a "barter account" was used to spend €5,000 on flip-flops, €12,000 for Bruce Springsteen tickets and €6,358 for 50 tickets for a Phil Collins and Robbie Williams concert.

Ms Martin added: "I emphasised to the incoming director general that it is now critical that he works, from day one on Monday, to change the tone and culture between the executive and the board and staff."

Mr Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly are expected to give evidence at a committee hearing next week.

Mr Bakhurst said the scandal meant his new role "wasn't quite the challenge that I thought I was taking on when I took on this job".

He added he would do his "absolute best to deliver"