Deputy Mattie McGrath is calling on the Justice Minister to direct the Garda’s National Economic Crime Bureau to investigate Senior RTE Executives for potential fraud.
The call comes after some members of the RTE Board and senior management appeared before the Oireachtas Media and Public Accounts Committees to answer questions about financial affairs at the State Broadcaster.
The Tipperary TD says the operation of financial controls require absolute accountability and transparency, which only a criminal investigation with statutory powers can uncover.
Deputy McGrath is critical of the slow and incomplete release of information by RTE and the fact that the former Director General was allowed to resign instead of being compelled to attend future Committee hearings. Deputy McGrath says the public supports RTE’s with licence fees and direct funding from the Exchequer and deserve nothing less than to be given all the facts and the full truth. The Cabinet is to agree terms of reference for a review of RTE’s finances when it meets tomorrow and may also use existing powers to appoint an auditor to the company.
