RTÉ News: Martin to relay concerns of RTÉ staff in meeting with director general

Story from RTÉ News:

Minister for Media Catherine Martin has said she understands the concerns of staff at RTÉ after it emerged yesterday that the broadcaster plans to move production of some programmes off site.

She said she will flag those concerns when she meets Director General Kevin Bakhurst and Chair of the RTÉ Board Terence O'Rourke next week.

Ms Martin said that RTÉ’s five-year strategy document published yesterday is the broadcaster’s business, and neither she nor the Government had any role in its approval.

However, she said the organisation could not have a strategy without funding, which she is focused on.

Ms Martin said she will be sitting down with incoming Minister for Finance Jack Chambers to get his views.

She said that she believes that any Exchequer funding should be ringfenced for between five and seven years and must be free of interference.

The five-year strategy for RTÉ has been described as a "clear move towards privatisation" by SIPTU, which represents 700 employees in the company.

Unions have been assessing the plans that would see a reduction in the workforce and the production of some programmes being moved off site.

The RTÉ workforce will be reduced by 400 and the production of The Late Late Show and Fair City will involve an independent company, RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst told staff at a meeting.

SIPTU said its members were shocked and surprised at the announcement, while the National Union of Journalists said the plan would present many challenges for staff and must be subject to intense scrutiny and negotiation.

SIPTU Industrial Organiser Martin Mannion described the plan as not a blueprint for improving RTÉ, rather a clear move towards privatisation.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Mannion said the broadcaster needed to be more transparent about how The Late Late Show and Fair City will be produced.

"Changes like this ... people need to be truthful about it, and to suggest that it's just moving productions off site isn't being truthful," he said.

Mr Mannion added the proposed changes will lead to inferior conditions for people who are working on programmes which could be moved off site.

"This is management's proposal on what they wish to do and what they're intending to do," he said.

"We oppose this because it will lead to inferior working conditions for the people who do that work.

"While he [Mr Bakhurst] does refer to it as being off site and it could be a hybrid model ... it did come out that this would be an outsourcing of work that it would be done in the independent sector and not be carried out by people who work within RTÉ.

Mr Mannion said he believes the majority of the predicted reduction in the workforce could be among SIPTU members.

"I suspect we should be working to take the bulk of the impact from any job losses here when you look at what's being proposed.

NUJ Irish Secretary Séamus Dooley expressed grave reservations initially at the approach taken by Mr Bakhurst and the RTÉ Board on the future of the organisation.

"None of the changes being proposed have any relevance to the reason why we are in this crisis, which relates to corporate management failure combines with Government delays in funding," Mr Dooley told the same programme.

"There is a danger that RTÉ will become a publisher, along the lines of Channel 4. We don't believe that would be an appropriate model.

"I don't take any consolation that as of now News and Current Affairs appears to be less at risk than other areas," he said.

Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe said he is still against RTÉ being dependent on direct Exchequer funding alone.

"The revenue the television licence brings in is valuable money we should not lose. The majority of people still pay the television licence," he said.

Removing the fee, Mr Donohoe said, would mean the Government would have to find tens of millions of euro elsewhere and RTÉ would become dependent on Government decisions during the budget process, which he does not think is appropriate.

Outgoing Minister for Finance Michael McGrath also said he was opposed to direct Exchequer funding for RTÉ.

A "decision will be made shortly. That's the important point to make," Mr McGrath said.

"We had a good discussion yesterday when Minister Martin brought to Cabinet the implementation plan for the recommendations arising from the Expert Advisory Committee reports."

Speaking on Morning Ireland, he said that "progress is being made" and that Ms Martin "was very clear".

"I agree with her that now is the time for the Government to make a decision, and the plan is to do that before the end of July and the work is well under way and there are different perspectives within Government.

"I won't be the key decision maker now in that, but I fully trust my colleagues will arrive at the right decision that works well for RTÉ, but also works well for taxpayers and ensures the independence and the integrity of public service broadcasting can be protected and maintained into the future, and that's a very important consideration."

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