Terence O'Rourke appointed as RTÉ chair

Last year, the Irish government announced an independent "root and branch examination" into RTÉ

Terence O'Rourke has been appointed as the new chair of the board for Irish broadcaster RTÉ.

He was approved for the position by Irish government party leaders on Monday night.

Mr O'Rourke is the current chairman of ESB (Electricity Supply Board) and is a former managing partner of the accountancy firm KPMG.

He is a chartered accountant from Inniskeen, County Monaghan, and was educated at University College Dublin (UCD).

Irish Media Minister Catherine Martin sought cabinet approval for the appointment on Tuesday morning, which was granted.

The cabinet also approved two new board members - film director Neasa Hardiman and business leader Terri Moloney.

Siún Ní Raghallaigh resigned as chair of RTÉ's board after Ms Martin's appearance on the broadcaster's Prime Time programme last month.

During the programme she declined to express confidence in her.

In a statement on Monday, Ms Ní Raghallaigh said she "cannot remain silent" around what she described as her "enforced dismissal".

She said that the manner of her "enforced dismissal" from the role seemed designed to "traduce" her reputation.

In a statement on Monday, Ms Martin said she outlined her and the Department of Media's position regarding Ms Ní Raghallaigh’s resignation last week.

"This included taking questions at a three and a half hour meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee," she said.

Ms Martin also said she provided statements in the Dáil (lower house of Irish parliament) on this as well.

"I would again like to put on record my thanks to the former chair, Siún Ní Raghallaigh, for her dedication and commitment to RTÉ and public service broadcasting," she said.

Ms Martin added that an "important step forward" for RTÉ would be taken on Tuesday when she seeks "government approval for the appointment of a new chair and additional board members".

"Upon appointment I will seek to meet the new chair and the director general in the coming days."

'Raises a number of serious questions'

Labour’s Marie Sherlock said the statement by the former chair calls into question how any future chair could work with this minister going forward.

“The government seem happy to allow RTÉ to dominate the headlines for all the wrong reasons," she said.

"It suits them, it is distracting from their major failings in housing, health and the economy, but the time has come to deal with this once and for all."

"Minister Martin must go,” Ms Sherlock added.

Ms Martin has so far not responded to these calls.

Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy, who is the deputy chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said there are concerns that Minister Martin has mislead the Dáil.

“Ms Ní Raghallaigh’s damning statement raises a number of serious questions for the minister, which urgently need to be clarified," Ms Murphy said.

“The minister suggested Ms Ní Raghallaigh, while in conversations with her officials in February, was unsure if she had mentioned the sign-off from the remuneration committee when she spoke to the secretary general in October.

"Ms Ní Raghallaigh reiterates in her statement that she is certain that she did."

Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould has said that Siún Ní Raghallaigh is owed an apology by the minister for the way she was treated.

In July 2023, the Irish government announced an independent "root and branch examination" into RTÉ.

The announcement was made by Ms Martin who said public trust in the organisation "has been shattered".