Former KPMG managing partner Terence O’Rourke looks set to be appointed Chair of RTÉ Board.
The appointment of the former managing partner of the accountancy firm KPMG got the green light from Government party leaders last night.
Mr O’Rourke is also the current Chairman of ESB.
He is a Chartered Accountant from Inniskeen, Co Monaghan, and was educated at University College Dublin.
He started with KPMG in 1975 and was Managing Partner KPMG Ireland from 2006 up to his retirement in April 2013.
During his time in KPMG he was President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland.
Mr O’Rourke is also a former Chair of Enterprise Ireland.
His biography on the ESB website states he has “a wide breadth of business skills with high-level experience in commercial, finance, decision-making and strategy development roles working with clients in Ireland and abroad.”
Minister for Media Catherine Martin will seek Cabinet approval for the appointment this morning.
Former Chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh resigned after Minister Martin’s appearance on RTÉ Prime Time last month in which she declined to express confidence in her.
Minister Martin later told the Oireachtas Committee on Media that on two occasions in the same week, Ms Ní Raghallaigh had supplied her with inaccurate information about the board’s involvement in exit deals at the station.
Earlier, the Taoiseach said that the appointment of a new Chair of the RTÉ Board, along with two new board members, will be an important step forward.
Leo Varadkar said it was important to have a fully functioning board and while it was difficult to find people to serve in these roles, it was not impossible.
He added that the Government expects the two final reports on RTÉ to be ready within weeks.
These reports on governance and culture will ensure that RTÉ is run and operated better in the future, he said.
While no policy decision has been taken yet to give the Comptroller and Auditor General oversight of RTÉ’s finances, the Taoiseach said such additional scrutiny would be a good idea.
On Sunday, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee Brian Stanley confirmed that his members will recommend that RTÉ be brought under the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General.
The PAC will publish its final report into the crisis at the national broadcaster on Tuesday.
