RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst says that it is a "source of frustration" that Dee Forbes has not spoken or answered questions about the Ryan Tubridy pay scandal.
While he says that his first few months in the top job have not been the challenge he expected, he told the Irish Mirror he is not "bitter or angry" about the fact he signed a seven-year contract weeks before the broadcaster became engulfed in scandal.
News broke in late June that RTÉ had under-declared Ryan Tubridy’s salary by €345,000 over a five-year period.
READ MORE: RTÉ DG Kevin Bakhurst gives his opinion on Ryan Tubridy's new job announcement
Oireachtas Committee meetings and subsequent investigations uncovered a number of financial irregularities at the broadcaster; including barter accounts, side deals and extraordinary spending habits.
Ms Forbes resigned as Director General in June. Mr Bakhurst assumed the role in July and told the Irish Mirror this week that he has not spoken to Ms Forbes since.
However, he explained that he would still like to hear her side of the story.
"I think it's a source of frustration for many people. I think it would be really good to hear from her at some point and the [Oireachtas] Committees have made that really clear."
RTÉ announced in April that Mr Bakhurst would succeed Ms Forbes. The run-up to his appointment was mired in controversy, as leaks from RTÉ Board meetings showed fraught discussions over whether he or David McRedmond, CEO of An Post, should be appointed to the role.
That controversy rolled straight into another one when the Tubridy payment scandal emerged, meaning Bakhurst was attending meetings with Media Minister Catherine Martin before he even officially started the job.
However, he said that he does not feel bitter that he signed a seven-year contract just weeks before the implosion at RTÉ.
"Life's too short to be bitter or angry," he said.
"You don't take these kind of jobs unless you can deal with challenges. There are always gonna be challenges in this role.
"It wasn't quite the challenge I expected.
"I wouldn't have taken this job unless I firmly believed in the value of public service broadcasting and public service media.
"That's what that's what keeps me going, a belief in what we're doing."
Mr Bakhurst said that it was a "relief" when the Government announced that it had agreed to provide interim funding of €56m to RTÉ.
The €40m due next year will be delivered in tranches and will depend on the reforms implemented.
If the money had not been signed off on, RTÉ would have run out of money next year.
Mr Bakhurst is confident he can deliver the reforms required to secure the funding and was reluctant to countenance what would happen to RTÉ if the Government held back some of the funding.
"If we didn’t have the money, we'd have to make more significant cuts.
"The cuts we're making are relatively painful already."
A number of reforms have already been implemented since Mr Bakhurst took over.
Communication with staff and the press has increased, external reviews have been commissioned and new registers of commercial interests and external activities are being set up.
RTÉ’s new strategic vision plan was unveiled earlier this week and details several changes to the broadcaster. This includes 400 fewer staff by 2028, a €250,000 pay cap and increased outsourced production.
Whether it will be enough to regain public confidence remains to be seen. However, Mr Bakhurst stated that he and others in RTÉ are "working very hard to rebuild trust and deliver great content".
"I ask [people] to look at the value of what they get across the piece from RTÉ on TV, radio and online. That needs to be paid for. We can't do that content without it being paid for.
"We are striving to do a good job. I've announced a lot of changes to the way the organisation's run. We're much more transparent, accountable. We’re very open about what we're trying to do.
"In the last couple of weeks, we have seen an upturn in licence fee payment and I’d like to thank people for that.
"I know when you lose trust, it's a long process to win it back.
"I'll just do everything I can to carry on trying to do that."
