OPINION: Oireachtas TV is the new ratings topper

The RTÉ soap opera continued apace last week, with the latest two-part special bringing one of our main protagonists to the screen, for a stunning solo performance. Ryan Tubridy’s arrival to the stage was what viewers had eagerly anticipated, and the addition of wheeler-dealer Noel Kelly, albeit tragically devoid of loud pinstripes, made this special episode all the more compelling.
One might be forgiven for thinking that former main – and unseen – character Dee Forbes has been jettisoned; but she remains where the last episode left her, under the bus, but likely to make an explosive return in the future. Viewers were only interested in one thing last week; how RTÉ’s golden boy would perform when, for a change, he was the one being asked the questions.
Tubridy and Kelly formed quite the double act. The former delivered the performance of a lifetime, going for the heartstrings, while the latter went straight for the jugular.
It was hard not to feel sympathy for the former Late Late Show presenter; all the money in the world is little comfort when you have been ‘cancelled’ and your reputation is in shreds.
It was hard, too, to find much fault with his agent’s assertions that RTÉ were firmly to blame; it is not his moral responsibility, nor his client’s, to question how the State broadcaster does its business, however naïve or convenient that position might be.
Last week also saw the arrival of new character, Kevin Bakhurst. The new Director General of RTÉ, he is now one of the most-recognised names in the country. His first priority will be cleaning up the mess left by his predecessors, while establishing himself as one of the main characters in the next season, a process that will likely see some other high-profile character axings. The next season being when the Dáil returns from its summer recess, for until then, we shall sadly be deprived of the circus of the Oireachtas Committee questionings, which for many politicians, dizzy with unprecedented TV viewership, seemed to be more about being heard than actually saying – or asking – anything of substance.
But why, why has this squalid soap opera gripped the nation so? Why is it a hot topic around dinner tables all over the country?
Well, for starters, it’s a very easy thing about which to feel outraged. It requires little emotional effort on our part to engage and enrage. In a country that is sinking in an overwhelming tide of injustice – dysfunctional health systems, housing and homelessness crises, institutional abuse, outrageous overspends on children’s hospitals, inadequate and insulting redress schemes, grossly inefficient provisions for people with disabilities, rising inflation, climate crisis inaction and so many more injustices – a bit of dodgy accounting in RTÉ should frankly be the least of our worries.
There are hundreds of things about which we should be angrier, but we have reached a point where we are utterly fatigued by all the wrongs being committed around us, and we feel helpless to combat them. This, however, feels manageable; more salacious, less emotionally taxing.
Unusually, there is power to inflict hurt in return too. Deciding not to pay the TV licence, however misguided, feels like a simple and safe means of mass protest. RTÉ will have to work incredibly hard to win back the trust of the public in this regard.
But what really irks people about this scandal is that it reeks of a time gone by. Tales of a €26,000 spend on two nights in a hotel for six people for the Champion’s league final stinks of Celtic Tiger entitlement. For most of us post-crash, mindsets changed, discretionary spending was cut and junkets all but disappeared in many organisations. However unfair the perception may be – particularly to lower paid staff – these revelations speak of an organisation that felt it could ignore these cultural changes and continue in a mindset of entitlement.
As for our main character? Do not be surprised to see a redemption. It is interesting to note in the social media comments – the bottom half of the internet of course, being a barometer of measured and rational discourse – the groundswell of support and sympathy for Tubridy. It was no surprise to hear him articulate how challenging the last few weeks have been for him; indeed, it was visible in his face. He has broken no laws, but he too has a lot of work to do to win back the respect of the public, and more importantly, his colleagues.
And as for soap operas? Move over Fair City. Oireachtas TV is the new ratings topper. But more notably, its significance as probably the most important public broadcasting service in Ireland right now is finally being recognised.