RTÉ: Government approves interim funding of €56m for RTÉ

Story from RTÉ:

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has confirmed that the Government has approved interim funding of €56 million for RTÉ, subject to conditions.

This includes €16 million in interim funding along with €40 million next year. It is understood that the €40 million will be paid in two instalments after the publication of reports aimed at reforming the organisation.

Mr Varadkar also said the strategic plan, to be published this afternoon, does not require Government approval.

The Government has forecast that a drop in licence fee income will cost RTÉ €21m in revenue this year and €40m next year if it continues.

RTÉ had sought €34.5m in funding in the Budget, but was only allocated an initial payment of €16m in supplementary estimates.

NewERA, the State body that advises the Government on the operations of commercial semi-State companies, had recommended to Minister for Media Catherine Martin that the organisation should get €40m in further interim funding to make up for some of the shortfall.

In a statement, Ms Martin said the strategic plan "addresses key areas such as governance reforms and cost efficiencies".

"This is vital as RTÉ seeks to rebuild the trust and confidence of the Irish public. I am acutely aware, however, of how difficult and challenging this is for the organisation, and particularly for its staff."

She added that the decision on funding "is necessary to ensure in the short term the continued operations of RTÉ", but that a long-term reform of the public funding model was "critical to ensure the national broadcaster is on a sustainable footing"

"Until a new long-term funding model is in place, it is critically important that people pay the TV Licence fee. It is not only required by law, it underpins vibrant public service content which is of critical importance to our democracy and society."

The Taoiseach added that he understood that the level of redundancies would be a shock for RTÉ employees, but said the plan was not proposed by Government, and RTÉ is autonomous in its decisions.

RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst has published the organisation's new strategic vision, which includes a plan to reduce the workforce at the national broadcaster by up to 400 by 2028.

The first 10% of the staff reductions are expected to be achieved quickly and it is estimated that the voluntary redundancy scheme could cost around €40m.

The organisation will also continue to reduce the pay of its top presenters and will keep in place a 2023 pay cap under the strategic vision. Priorities in the plan include upgrading technology, live and online content.

The document was delivered to Ms Martin, but is not expected to go to Cabinet this week.

The strategic vision is a framework for the future of the organisation that will go out to consultation with the Government, staff, independent producers, regulators, service providers, the public and more.

That feedback will then inform the production of RTÉ's Statement of Strategy for 2024–2028, which will be published in the New Year.

Mr Bakhurst has previously stated that there are no plans for compulsory redundancies at the public service broadcaster. However, he also said RTÉ does not have money to fund a voluntary exit programme.

The organisation has long sought reform of the licence fee system which part funds it, amid claims the funding mechanism is not fit for purpose for the modern digital media age.

But since the controversy that began in July around payments made to broadcaster Ryan Tubridy, there has been a sharp fall-off in licence fee payments.

The National Union of Journalists welcomed the interim funding announcement, saying that it was "a welcome reprieve".

Irish Secretary Séamus Dooley said the Government needs to expedite proposals for long-term funding of public service broadcasting, adding the move represents "an important step in restoring stability to RTÉ."

However, he also said the union is gravely concerned at the scale of the proposed redundancies and will require detailed information on how it is proposed to maintain core services and the impact on staff of such drastic proposals.

"Against the backdrop of an investigation into the last Voluntary Redundancy Programme staff will be very sceptical about a new programme," said NUJ Irish Secretary Seamus Dooley.

"Staff will want an assurance that there is a genuine, sustainable long plan based on clearly defined objectives that than a set of announcements aimed at securing government support for short term funding."

The chair of the NUJ Dublin Broadcasting Branch described the proposals as "bleak". However, Emma O Kelly said the leaked details of the document do not surprise her.

Although clarification is needed on a number of issues, it would appear that the suggestion is to slash jobs in the organisation and farm them out to the private economy where the money will sustain a gig economy, she said.

Earlier, the secretary of the RTÉ Trade Union Group said losing 20% of RTÉ staff over the next four years seems like "a tall order".

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Cearbhall Ó Síocháin said he did not believe that previous voluntary redundancy schemes reached their targets.

He said a certain level of staff shortages are already being experienced in the organisation and that redundancies will place an extra burden on those that remain.

"20% is a huge chunk of the workforce here. Any redundancies will have to be voluntary. And on past experience 400 seems like a tall order. You're talking 100 jobs a year on average over the course of this plan," he said.

Mr Ó Síocháin said the public, particularly minorities, would be most impacted by cuts to services and the privatisation of services would "not be seen as a good thing for a public broadcaster".

"The implications here is that staff are picking up the tab for poor governance and bad management by those who've walked away on big money," he said.

Mr Ó Síocháin said it was very disappointing that details of RTÉ's strategic vision were leaked in the press before unions and staff heard about them and it came as another gut punch to staff.

He said it was important to stress that Government has a role to play because there is a responsibility to fund a national public service broadcaster.