RTÉ to be questioned about sending 41 people to cover world cup playoff game.

[Tony Scanlon]

"RTÉ to be queried on sending 41 people to cover World Cup play-off in Czechia, PAC chair says

Prague An RTÉ spokesperson told The Journal that RTÉ has not yet received an invitation to the Public Accounts Committee.
RTÉ IS TO be queried by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) over reports the broadcaster sent 41 staff and contractors to Czechia to cover the recent World Cup play-off semi-final, the PAC chair has said.

The Irish football team lost 4-2 on penalties in the game against Czechia in the Fortuna Arena, Prague in March.

RTÉ said at the time that Inside Sport, Liveline, Morning Ireland and 2FM Drive would be in Prague providing coverage.

Sinn Féin TD and PAC member Cathy Bennett raised the topic at a meeting of the committee and said she would like to know if 41 RTÉ staff were sent to the event. “I’d be very concerned if it did happen,” she said.

Sinn Féin TD and chair of PAC, John Brady, announced today that the committee will query RTÉ over spending of public money on the coverage. However, an RTÉ spokesperson told The Journal that RTÉ has not yet received an invitation to PAC.

Brady said: “We need an explanation on the justification for sending a crew of 41 to Prague to cover the World Cup playoff.

“How much did the trip cost in total? We also need a detailed breakdown of the roles that those who travelled were fulfilling?”

Brady said it would be “completely unacceptable” if individuals travelled and did not have a “vital function”.

“We’ve seen too many instances in the past of RTÉ’s laissez faire approach to spending public money so we need these questions answered,” he said.

“We need to ensure that the public can have confidence in our national broadcaster and that there is transparency, accuracy and accountability when it comes to the financial governance of the organisation.”

Speaking to The Journal, an RTÉ spokesperson confirmed that 41 people travelled to Prague for RTÉ to cover the event and provided a breakdown of who travelled.

This included 12 people in on-air roles, six people in journalism roles reporting in the English and Irish language, 12 people across editorial production roles for live coverage, nine people from RTÉ’s technical teams and two people from RTÉ’s commercial partnership team working on sponsorship. 

The spokesperson said: “RTÉ has previously confirmed that on one of the biggest sporting days for the nation in a generation and one of the biggest days for the Republic of Ireland men’s soccer team in decades, RTÉ brought the nation to the heart of the action, but also to the exciting build up from Prague as excitement built towards the game.

“In addition to delivering live coverage and analysis of the match, across television, radio, online and social services, RTÉ put together a schedule of programmes and content that allowed Irish fans who couldn’t be there to join in the excitement on what was a wonderful and joyous occasion for the nation as Ireland sought to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 2002.

“In addition to the live game, RTÉ also covered a range of experiences across the build up for a number of different audiences across all platforms. Our live broadcasts provided coverage of this national moment across a number of days, so audiences at home could feel as involved as the fans that travelled to Prague.”"