Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has confirmed that the Government has agreed €56 million in interim funding for RTÉ, subject to conditions.
This includes €16 million in interim funding along with €40 million next year. It is known that an amount of 40 million euros will be paid in two installments after the publication of reports aimed at reforming the organization.
Mr Varadkar also said the strategic plan, which will be published this afternoon, does not require government approval.
The government has forecast that the decline in license fee income will cost RTÉ €21 million in revenue this year and €40 million next year if it continues.
RTÉ requested funding of €34.5 million in the budget, but only an initial tranche of €16 million was allocated as supplementary estimates.
NewERA, the government body that advises the government on the operations of business parastatals, has recommended to Information Minister Catherine Martin that the organization receive €40 million in additional temporary funding to make up some of the shortfall.
The strategic plan “addresses key areas such as governance reforms and cost efficiency,” Ms. Martin said in a statement.
“This is vital as RTÉ seeks to rebuild the trust of the Irish public. However, I am fully aware of how difficult and challenging this is for the organisation, and particularly for its staff.”
She added that the funding decision was “essential to ensure RTÉ’s continued operations in the short term”, but that longer-term reform of the public funding model was “crucial to ensure the national broadcaster is on a sustainable footing”.
“Until a new long-term funding model is in place, it is vitally important that people pay the TV license fee. Not only is it required by law, it supports the vibrant public service content that is so important to our democracy and society.”
The Taoiseach added that he understood the level of redundancies would come as a shock to RTÉ staff, but said the plan had not been proposed by the Government, and that RTÉ was independent in its decisions.
RTÉ director general Kevin Buckhurst has published the organisation’s new strategic vision, which includes a plan to cut the national broadcaster’s workforce by up to 400 by 2028.
The first 10% of staff reductions are expected to be achieved quickly, and it is estimated that the voluntary redundancy plan could cost around €40 million.
The organization will also continue to reduce the salaries of its senior providers and will retain a maximum wage for 2023 under the strategic vision. Priorities in the plan include upgrading technology and live and online content.
The document has been handed to Ms Martin, but is not expected to go to Cabinet this week.
The strategic vision is a framework for the future of the organization that will go out for consultation with government, employees, independent producers, regulators, service providers, the public and more.
This feedback will then be used to produce RTÉ’s strategy statement for 2024-2028, which will be published in the new year.
Mr. Bakhurst has previously stated that there are no plans for compulsory redundancies from the public broadcasting service. However, he also said RTÉ did not have the money to fund a voluntary exit programme.
The organization has long sought to reform the license fee system that partly funds it, amid claims that the funding mechanism is not fit for purpose in the modern age of digital media.
But since the controversy that began in July over payments to broadcaster Ryan Tubridy, there has been a sharp decline in license fee payments.
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The strategic vision is the beginning but not the end of RTÉ’s reform process
The National Union of Journalists said it was deeply concerned by the scale of the proposed redundancies and would request detailed information on how they are proposed to maintain essential services and the impact these radical proposals will have on staff.
NUJ Irish Secretary Seamus Dooley said: “Against the backdrop of the investigation into the last voluntary redundancy programme, staff will be very skeptical about the new programme.”
“Staff will need assurances that there is a real and sustainable long-term plan based on clearly defined objectives rather than a set of announcements aimed at securing government support for short-term funding.”
The head of NUJ Radio’s Dublin branch described the proposals as “bleak”. However, Emma O Kelly said the leaked details of the document do not surprise her.
She said that although clarification was needed on a number of issues, the proposal appeared to be to cut jobs in the organization and move them to the private economy where the funds would support the gig economy.
Earlier, the secretary of the RTÉ Trade Union Group said losing 20% of RTÉ staff over the next four years seemed “tough”.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme, Cearbhall Ó Síocháin said he did not believe previous voluntary redundancy schemes had reached their goals.
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He said the organization was already experiencing some level of staff shortages, and that the layoffs would put an additional burden on those who remain.
“20% is a large percentage of the workforce here. Any layoffs would have to be voluntary. And from past experience, 400 jobs seems difficult. You’re talking about 100 jobs a year on average over the course of this plan.” He said.
Mr O Ciocin said the public, especially minorities, would be most affected by service cuts and that privatization of services “would not be seen as a good thing for the public broadcaster”.
“The implications here are that employees are held responsible for mismanagement and poor management by those who have run away with huge amounts of money,” he said.
Mr Ó Síocháin said it was extremely disappointing that details of RTÉ’s strategic vision had been leaked to the press before unions and staff had heard about it, and it was another punchline to staff.
He said it was important to stress that the government had a role to play because there was a responsibility to fund the national public broadcasting service.
Additional reporting by Will Goodbody and Sandra Hurley