Catherine Martin has plunged RTÉ into an immediate existential crisis

Reacting to the resignation of the Chairperson of RTÉ, Labour media spokesperson Marie Sherlock said:

“Minister Martin effectively summarily dismissed the Chair of RTÉ live on air last night.

"In what has been a devastating number of months for the broadcaster, the Minister’s interventions last night will have utterly decimated any chance the broadcaster had at restoring order in the short term.

“The Minister’s hands off approach during this crisis will have profound and long lasting consequences for the broadcaster.

“RTE is being bailed out to tune of €71m between last year and this year.

"Why did the Minister not ask the right questions, ensure proper processes were being followed or ask for written correspondences?

"The Minister has presided over a chaotic situation where, on one hand, she has warned that the bailout to RTÉ is conditional on future reforms which this Government will have to assess.

"Yet, on the other hand, we have learned last week and this week that she doesn’t even have basic information about high profile exits from RTÉ.

"It has become clear that Siún Ní Raghallaigh’s tenure could not go on with the Minister being misled.

“However the Minister’s interview last night was wrong, ill thought through and is clear evidence of a Minister utterly out of their depth.

"This is the same Minister who equivocated on the importance of paying the TV licence, the main revenue stream for the broadcaster.”