Rabbitte: RTÉ's response to a BAI report 'very radical'
The Communications Minister has described RTÉ's response to a BAI report into the Prime Time Investigates programme, A Mission to Prey, as "very radical".
Today major changes to RTE's current affairs structures were announced as a result of the report.
The station's head of News and Current Affairs - Ed Mulhall - has retired, while the Editor of Current Affairs - Ken O'Shea - has resigned from his post and is being transferred to a new position in Television.
The Prime Time Investigates programme will not return to air - and staff are also to be trained in new journalism guidelines, which have been developed in recent months.
Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte believes the retirement of Ed Mulhall in particular is regrettable:
"Frankly I have to admit that I'm sorry to see him retire, presumably he felt it the honourable thing to do", he said
"…I'm not sure that Ed Mulhall himself was implicated in the actual detail of the programme in question. Presumably he has decided that the buck stops here and he has retired I think that is a loss to journalism in RTE and indeed in the country"
