A new five-year strategy for RTÉ is set to be published after staff are briefed on the plan by Director General Kevin Bakhurst.The strategy, known as 'A New Direction (2025 – 2029)', will be presented to staff by Mr Bakhurst and his interim leadership team at a townhall meeting this afternoon.As well as this strategy document, there are two other strands to the publication expected from RTÉ today, including the organisation’s new governance framework and RTÉ’s implementation roadmap.This last document arises from the 116 recommendations included in the three external reports which Minister for Media Catherine Martin published on 7 May in the wake of controversies at RTÉ which first emerged one year ago in June 2023.RTÉ is expected to give its detailed response to those recommendations and outline when, and if, they will implement the suggested changes, if they have not done so already.When the recommendations were published, Minister Martin said: "RTÉ must now come up with a plan … that will outline how the reports' recommendations will be implemented, as well as a timeline for this."As such, RTÉ needs to continue to satisfy the requirements from the minister to release the full interim funding for the organisation, so these documents are significant.So what are the five main questions RTÉ needs to address in the five-year strategy?1 - What is the future funding model for RTÉ?One of the main issues facing RTÉ is the ongoing uncertainty about its future funding model.Will Mr Bakhurst use the publications to call for clarity from Minister Martin on the funding model's timeline?The minister has said that she and this Government will settle on new public funding before the Dáíl summer recess in just a few weeks' time, but as there are conflicting views on future funding models in the Cabinet, this has fuelled the ongoing uncertainty for the broadcaster.The Minister for Media favours the exchequer option of funding it from general taxation, but others in the Cabinet, including Tánaiste Micheál Martin, are opposed to the idea of scrapping separate funding for public service funding, amid concerns about how it might impact editorial independence.Catherine Martin said the Government will settle on new public funding for RTÉ before the summer recess Minister for Finance Micheal McGrath has warned that replacing the licence fee with direct exchequer funding would leave the broadcaster "competing" with other departments for money which is "not easy to find".The decision on funding is one for the Government and not one Mr Bakhurst can make, but it will undoubtedly be the cornerstone of any new strategy for the organisation he leads.2 - How will RTÉ become a smaller organisation?The five-year strategy builds on the ten-point strategic vision that was first circulated by RTÉ in November 2023.Both staff and the public have had consultations arising from the ten-point plan and that feedback has informed this final version of the strategy.Back in November, the ten-point plan said RTÉ would become a smaller organisation over the next five years, with a 20% net headcount reduction or 400 people, over the period.Since that time, there has been much speculation about a Voluntary Exit Package for staff, so the strategy is expected to address any package and outline how it might work, including any terms and conditions that may be attached.3 - RTÉ sits on valuable land at Montrose - is it planning on staying there?Several of the buildings in RTÉ are listed and are aging, so there has been a wide range of opinions on the viability of the campus and the amount of investment required to bring the buildings up to modern workplace standards.Last November, RTÉ had said that "the station will have two production centres, with operations in Cork expanding and reducing Dublin and a renewed commitment to Limerick and Galway".If there is less output from Montrose, will the strategy clarify if the physical scale of the campus will shrink or be reconfigured?In 2017, RTÉ sold almost nine acres of its site to developers Cairn Homes for just over €107 million.However, recent estimates now put that figure lower per acre, as the site is described as a complex one with a number of protected buildings, so the document should address the infrastructure of a future RTÉ.4 - How will RTÉ further develop its relationship with the independent sector?"Hard choices will be made," is what Mr Bakhurst had to say in November about the challenge of managing RTÉ’s future against an uncertain financial backdrop.That document had said that significantly more content would be commissioned and produced for RTÉ by independent production companies with an increase in overall investment of 50% above current levels by 2028.Today we expect to see a little more meat on the bones of this proposal.There has been a long history of former RTÉ employees successfully transferring their production skills to the independent sector, but if the level of commissions rises to that 50% investment, would that require an expansion of experienced people available to work in that sector?Will RTÉ discuss the prospect of people transferring their careers to the independent sector, and what reassurances and career development supports will they give to staff who stay?5 - How different will RTÉ look in five years?The documents will have to pitch a vision of the organisation that proves it has the governance structures, transparency and systems in place to rebuild the trust of politicians and more importantly, the public.It will have to address the digital future of the broadcaster and contain a sharp focus on how RTÉ can reach audiences into the future.In the ever-changing media landscape, will the plans clearly outline RTÉ’s aim to grasp the opportunities and indeed the challenges in the future of a digitally-focused broadcasting organisation?And the most important question of all, will the documents do enough to prove that RTÉ deserves funding commitments that will allow it to make longer-term decisions and not simply rely on ongoing interim funding to survive from year to year.
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