Dee Forbes banging the RTE TV licence drum again 60m uncollected fee *poll not working - pl ignore*

So here we have the drip feed of the reports : -

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2024/0502/1446954-rte-reports/

The report spins it for them

1. some criticism of previous external auditors but found that no one gained personally from RTÉ's controversial barter account.
2. Two payments of €150,000 were made to former RTÉ presenter Ryan Tubridy through the barter account in 2022. The use of the barter account meant the cost to RTÉ was more than €230,000

2 contradict one, I don't always mention Mr. Tubs in relation to this but he and his agent clearly gained personally from the controversial barter account.

1. There is a recommendation that Government should legislate to provide a more certain funding stream for RTÉ.

How has funding got anything to do with good governance or corporate culture?

The plot thickens.

RTÉ made a mistake in the report, they mean he got 2 payments of 150k !

I wonder would a Eurovision win give RTE a get out of jail card?

But surely they could reuse the Toy Show Backdrops and costumes….

And Of course, Tubs owes them 2 appearance dates (As Renault sure as hell aren't useusingem now)🤣

No hopefully it would result in RTÉ having to except BBC coming in and hosting it as they have done in the past for other broadcasters, in 1994 they offered to host the show for RTÉ. It'd be great to see the Eurovision in Belfast IMO. After the titanic centre looks like a Eurovision set.

I expect if we did win, and Belfast \ BBC co-production not a runner - the Government would step in with a once off subvention covering the cost of the Eurovision, turn it into a "Gathering" type tourism promoting event.

Shared Tourism etc etc

Anyway AFAIK "the big five" now pay for most of the Eurovision, its just hosted by the winning country, I don't think "SVT" in Sweden carry the massive burden of hosting the event, I am not sure how it works but I don't think the host country is a Financially open to the event as RTÉ had been in the 1970s (1 out of 10), 1980s (2 out of 10) and 1990s (4 out of 10).

Still like Bishop Brennan RTÉ need a good kick up the arse…. **** it, the government should turn to TG4 and let them host it in Galway, by way of stepping in with a once of subvention…. even worst give the money to Virgin Media TV!

Either way I just want to see RTÉ shamed because I see all of this being massively being brushed under the carpet.

You know RTÉ talk about people being proud again of RTÉ, I am sorry but did they notice the uptake of cable in the country or the aerials point to NI and Wales, I wonder why people did that, because they were so satisfied at a 5 O'Clock start to RTÉ! "Oh but we've no money" same old **** story from RTÉ.

So they made a change to the report: -

Payments were made to former RTÉ presenter Ryan Tubridy through the barter account in 2022. The use of the barter account meant the cost to RTÉ was more than €230,000.

It will be interesting to see if it turns out when the report is published that Tubs got 300k and not 150k and this is just for 2022, what happened in 2021?

From the Irish Times (also not how they retain the idea that in effect Renault paid the first 75k, when Renault paid RTÉ meaning it became RTÉ money and then when to Tubs). Sorry it say in effect RTÉ paid it because the gave the credit note to Renault for advertising, even without it they paid Tubs.

The question then is did RTÉ wait until 2022 to make 2 150k payments, and up to 2020 they didn't use the barter account for such transactions in 2020 or 2021?

The DG of Eurovision (aka EBU) is the former DG of RTÉ Noel Curran, and Husband to a Eurovision winner! So no! He prob had a convo with Kevin B, "I'll fix the result Kevin, just like the old days when you were my Deputy".

It is the strangest thing I have heard. Reduce the fee from €160, to what? and how much of a top up? Where does An Post sit with all of this, Mr. McRedmond is very quite on his inability to collect the fee that he want to control.

How can an illness prevent you from answering a few questions?

Unless it's affecting your mouth working.

Absolute chancer of the highest order, and symptomatic of all that's wrong in the likes of rte. Pity people couldn't legally have their pensions etc stopped until they cooperate.

No reason it will stop either.

Completely disgraceful but willingly accepted by the Irish public.

There was zero deterrent for her to do whatever she wanted to do in her role at RTE.