RTÉ Board
RTÉ is Ireland’s Public Service Broadcaster and is ultimately owned by the State. However, it is a Statutory State Corporation and operated independently of the Government and civil service. Coimisiún na Meán are responsible for ensuring RTÉ are compliant with broadcasting regulations in Ireland and fulfilling its Public Service Remit.
As a Public Service Broadcaster RTÉ is publicly owned and funded under a dual income system of the public TV licence fee and commercial advertising revenue. Governance of RTÉ is the ultimate responsibility of the RTÉ Board, a group of 12 people who serve on the Board for five year terms, a maximum of two terms. The Board includes people from a variety of backgrounds including media and the arts, academia, business and technology sectors. Six members of the Board are appointed directly by the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media; a further four members are proposed by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media to the minister; the RTÉ Director General and one nominated member of RTÉ staff take up the final two places on the Board. The Board formulates policy and strategy for RTÉ setting these for the RTÉ Executive who implement strategy and are responsible for the day to day running of the organisation. The Executive in turn is responsible for ensuring RTÉ’s ongoing editorial independence.
Siún Ní Raghallaigh is Chair of the RTÉ Board and has no actual shares in the company, however for the purposes of this project we are considering her as the ‘owner’. Details are included below on other members of the Trust.
Siún Ní Raghallaigh is a media professional and former TG4 Chairperson and Board member, where she was a founding member of the team who established the Irish language station. She was CEO of Ardmore Studios and Troy Studios until 2021 and previously Managing Director with Tyrone Productions. She was Head of Finance with Tribune Newspaper Group. She founded her own independent television company Ikandi Productions and produced several documentaries. Siún is also involved in the animation sector and has executive produced several animated feature films.
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Members of the RTÉ board are appointed for a 5 year term which may be extended to two terms. It was called the RTÉ Authority until 2009.
appointed to the board in October 2018 Ian Kehoe is a journalist, author and broadcaster. He was editor of The Sunday Business Post newspaper from 2014-2018 and a former presenter and reporter with RTÉ’s Prime Time.
appointed to the board in November 2022. Director of The Ark Cultural Centre for Children in Temple Bar, Dublin. She has worked in theatre and the arts for over two decades as an artistic director, producer and commissioner of new work. She is currently a PhD candidate at Queen’s University, Belfast.
Director General appointed to the board in July 2023. Kevin Bakhurst became Director General of RTÉ in July 2023 following the resignation of Dee Forbes by request of the RTÉ Board in the midst of the Ryan Tubridy payments scandal. In the past he held senior editorial and Director roles with BBC News, was the Director of Broadcasting and Online at Ofcom and was Deputy Director General at RTÉ from 2012-2016.
appointed to the board in November 2014, his second term is due to conclude in 2024. He is an associate professor in the School of English, Drama and Film at UCD and specialises in Irish literature and culture.
appointed to the board in November 2014, her second term due to conclude in 2024. She is an experienced business executive who established CADCO and is currently the executive chairman of KineMatik, which was recently acquired by Canadian software firm, Opentext. She is a member of the Institute of Directors.
appointed to the board in May 2018. Joined RTÉ in 1998 and has worked as a journalist across many programmes across the News and Current affairs Division including Prime Time, News at One and as part of the team who established The Business radio programme. Before joining RTÉ he worked with the Nikkei newspaper in Japan and BBC. He is an active member of the NUJ Trade Union in RTÉ.
appointed to the board in March 2020. Connor is a Technology Entrepreneur and studied Computer science at University College Cork. His background is in investment and Management Consulting in the technology sector. He is a member of the Techstars Venture Partner team and was previously CEO and Founder of Datahug, which was acquired by SAP. He also worked with the PA Consulting Group in London, New York and Washington DC.
appointed to the board in July 2021. Susan is a practising barrister, accredited mediator and international arbitrator and is an advisor to international bodies in the areas of corporate governance and dispute resolution. She has over 25 years’ experience in commercial and sports law practice, sports administration and corporate governance. Until 2016, Susan was the Head of Legal & Legislative Affairs at World Rugby.
appointed to the board in July 2021. Daire Hickey is a founder and Managing Partner at 150Bond, working with corporate leaders on communication and growth strategies. He is also an investor in a number of startups and venture firms and previously worked as a journalist. Daire was a co-founder of Web Summit with Paddy Cosgrove and David Kelly. In 2022 Hickey and Kelly took Paddy Cosgrove to court alleging a breach of a profit share arrangement.
appointed to the board in July 2021. David Harvey is a former television, radio presenter and television producer. He has interests in a number of media companies. He was chairman of the National Library of Ireland, IADT Dun Laoghaire, the St Patrick’s Festival and the People in Need Trust. He is currently chairman of the Irish Museum of Modern Art.
appointed to the board in March 2022. Jonathan Ruane is a Lecturer and Research Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His research interests are at the intersection of digital economics, advanced computing, strategy, and international markets. He started his career in brand management with Proctor & Gamble. He was CEO of Eventovate, software supplier to the hotel industry
