RTÉ News: RTÉ to move Fair City production off site over next five years

Story from RTÉ News:

RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst has told a meeting of staff that production of programmes, including Fair City and The Late Late Show, is to move off site over the next five years.

He confirmed the decision as he outlined details of the broadcaster's new strategy document, called 'A New Direction', which is to guide RTÉ for the next five years.

The Co-Chair of the RTÉ Trade Union Group has said it was difficult for people attending the meeting to gain clarity around the move off site, adding that a lot of hands were left up by the time the meeting concluded.

"There was some anger as well at the difficulty of getting information," Emma O Kelly said, adding that: "It was as if the penny was dropping late in the meeting."

Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime, she said Mr Bakhurst disagreed with the Trade Union’s use of the word "outsourcing" when referring to the future of Fair City and the Late Late Show.

During the meeting, Mr Bakhurst said the independent sector will, in time, be invited to discuss the possibilities of producing Fair City in a way that is successful for everyone involved.

In the case of The Late Late Show, he said that it is a more complex editorial programme and that it could possibly be produced by an in-house team in conjunction with an independent company.

Mr Bakhurst said he is pleased that Minister for Media Catherine Martin confirmed that the Government is releasing the final €20 million of interim funding to RTÉ.

Legislation involving a new public funding mechanism and funding for public service media will be published in September, he added.

The director general said that the broadcaster must have a transparent and sustainable financial model, as part of a new commercial strategy.

In terms of staffing, a 20% cut - 400 employees - is confirmed through a targeted voluntary redundancy programme, likely to cost around €50 million.

Mr Bakhurst said he expects the first phase of this - involving 40 people - to begin "imminently".

It is the intention, he added, that any member of the broadcaster's leadership team will be unable to apply for redundancy during the initial phase.

Some 1,400 staff will remain in the broadcaster at the end of the five-year plan.

The document states that there will be investment "in training and development to ensure RTÉ has the right skillset to deliver" change.

A growing focus on the independent production sector and how it will become more central to the broadcaster's output is among the key points of the strategy.

Commissioned spending is to rise from €47 million this year to around €70 million per year from 2026 - an increase of over 60%.

RTÉ plans to invest in excess of €340 million with Ireland’s independent production sector.

The aim is for the broadcaster to have a "world class digital portfolio".

Other plans include the launch of the new RTÉ Audio app and RTÉ News app by 2025, both offering, the strategy said, enhanced content and user experience.

It added that, by 2027, 50% of all non-live television content will be made available on RTÉ Player first - giving the audience the choice on how they watch programming.

Mr Bakhurst said that wider public access to RTÉ's archives of broadcast and online material is important, and will be further worked on.

The broadcaster has a strong national footprint, according to the strategy, that it wants to rebalance further, through commissioning and internal production changes.

As part of this, it invest in a new expanded production centre in Cork.

Mr Bakhurst said that a rebalancing in the number of people working in Dublin and Cork is likely, as the broadcaster should reflect all of Ireland.

Current Dublin-based workers will be provided with the option of relocation to newly created or open positions in other centres across the country.

Changes to RTÉ's headquarters in Dublin are being considered, Mr Bakhurst added, including a smaller site and fewer employees.

He said that management has looked at a number of options, including a move elsewhere to a location off the M50 or in Dublin city centre.

However, Mr Bakhurst said this was "discounted" because the cost and disruption would be "enormous".

Kevin Bakhurst said a move from RTÉ's Donnybrook headquarters has been ruled out New state of the art studios are to be built in Donnybrook, he added, partially because a number of the existing buildings are 50-60 years old and would take considerable investment to bring them up to environmental standards.

This could cost up to €300m over 12 years, Mr Bakhurst said, and would be "incredibly disruptive".

He said that RTÉ needs to be "careful" about building works, and pointed to the rising cost of the National Children's Hospital.

The Director General told the meeting that while a recent Oireachtas committee meeting heard the Donnybrook site could be worth up to €500m, the existence of listed buildings means the true value might be ten times less.

As such, he said, people are not "clamouring" to purchase it.

Mr Bakhurst said the current Cork studio needs to be sold as it is not fit for purpose and a number of alternative high-quality office locations are available in the city.

He said the question is whether RTÉ wants to look for a different location alone or with an external partner.

RTÉ Board Chair Terence O'Rourke said "the board fully endorses this new direction for RTÉ and will continue to support the director general and his team in delivering this".