The tribunes of the people are not too proud to beg. Last week, Niamh Smyth, the impressive chair of the Oireachtas Joint Committee looking into the debacles at RTÉ, ended a hearing with a heart-rending plea: “I make one last appeal to Ms Forbes, Ms Doherty and Mr Coveney to make themselves available to us so we can actually conclude these deliberations.”
It was the most moving entreaty since James Brown performed Please, Please, Please down on his knees with real tears streaming from his eyes. But was it not also rather humiliating for Irish democracy – the people we elect to hold to account those who spend our money having to launch such desperate supplications?
Former RTÉ director general (DG) Dee Forbes is, it seems, excused indefinitely on health and wellbeing grounds from explaining her stewardship of the national broadcaster.
Not only was Forbes unable to attend Wednesday’s hearing – so were eight other invited witnesses: RTÉ's former head of strategy Rory Coveney, former commercial director Geraldine O’Leary, former chief financial officers Breda O’Keeffe and Richard Collins, former chair Moya Doherty, former director of content Jim Jennings and former board members Conor Murphy and Ian Kehoe.
I am not suggesting that some or all of them did not have valid reasons for being unable to attend. But the scale of the collective absence is remarkable. So is the fact that O’Keeffe, who cited “stress” as preventing her from taking part, sent a........