Probe into RTÉ’s Toy Show The Musical to be published

A forensic examination of RTÉ’s Toy Show The Musical, which amassed losses of €2.2 million, is expected to be published later this morning.

The investigation by the auditing firm, Grant Thornton, found there was no written record of the RTÉ Board ever granting approval for the musical.

It also identifies there was no formal consideration of the project by the RTÉ Board until after a contract was signed with the venue for the musical.

Minister for Media, Catherine Martin, confirmed that her department had received a copy of the Grant Thornton report into Toy Show The Musical. It is now widely expected that the full report will be published later today.

Grant Thornton is understood to have found a lack of governance over the entire project, with no written approval being given by the Board of RTÉ, that sponsorship may have been overstated and a suggestion that the show would have struggled to break even.

The Chair of the Oireachtas Media Committee, Niamh Smyth, said it may be the case that any current RTÉ Board members, who were in situ at the time, may be requested to answer questions.

One of the Committee members, Fine Gael’s Brendan Griffin, told his parliamentary party last night that both RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst and chair of the board Siún Ní Raghallaigh should be “hauled” back in as relevant information about the crisis at RTÉ was still outstanding.

The Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, is understood to have told the same meeting that sacking the board of RTÉ might be the “easy” option but isn’t a good option as members, once gone, are unaccountable.

The Chair of the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee, Brian Stanley, said his members would read the report and then decide if they would seek more information or call in RTÉ Executives and Board members.