Director General of RTÉ

The director general is the chief executive and editor-in-chief of public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. The current director general is Kevin Bakhurst, who replaced Dee Forbes in the role in 2023.

Appointment and role

The RTÉ Board appoints the director general of RTÉ, who fulfils the roles of both chief executive officer and of editor-in-chief
Kevin Bakhurst disbanded the executive on 10 July 2023 in the wake of the RTÉ secret payment scandal, which comprised the company's top management. It was replaced by an interim leadership team.
The director general both reports to the board and sits on it "in an ex officio capacity".
At this time, the director general serves a term of five years, at the expiry of which he/she may ask for an extension.

2023 controversy

In June 2023, RTÉ admitted that it paid its top presenter Ryan Tubridy €345,000 more than publicly declared between 2017 and 2022. Dee Forbes was suspended as Director General a day prior to the controversy, and ultimately resigned with immediate effect on 26 June. Adrian Lynch, Director of Channels & Marketing, was appointed to the position of Deputy Director General; he also assumed the role of interim Director General following the suspension and resignation of Forbes and prior to the planned arrival of Kevin Bakhurst into that role in July 2023.