Monaghan man named chair of RTÉ Board

Minister for Media Catherine Martin, a native of Carrickmacross, recommended the appointment

A Monaghan man and former managing partner at KPMG is to be named the new chair of the Board at RTÉ. Terence O'Rourke, a native of Inniskeen, is the current chairman at ESB, and previously served on the board of the Irish Times.

Minister for Media Catherine Martin, a native of Carrickmacross, recommended Mr O’Rourke’s appointment. This was agreed by Coalition leaders including the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

It comes after the former chair of the board, Siún Ní Raghallaigh, hit out at Minister Martin, stating that she felt she had no other option but to resign after what she says was an “enforced dismissal”.

She also criticised the minister for “actively taking a hands-off approach” to the scandal at RTÉ. Siún Ní Raghallaigh resigned after Minister Martin’s appearance on Prime Time last month, in which the Minister failed to express confidence in her.

CMG Body: The Minister later told the Oireachtas Media Committee that Siún Ní Raghallaigh had given her inaccurate information on two separate occasions.

Minister Martin this week repeated her thanks to Siún Ní Raghallaigh for her dedication to public service broadcasting. However, she said: “Any Minister needs to rely on getting clear, timely and accurate information from the chair of a State body. This is particularly important at such a challenging time in RTÉ’s history."

The Minister is due to meet the new chair, Mr O'Rourke, and the Director General in the coming days.