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SPONSORSHIP MONEY WILL “more than cover” the salary RTÉ is paying Ray D’Arcy, the incoming chair of the national broadcaster has said.
Moya Doherty made the comments before the Oireachtas Communications today where she came in for strong questioning from TDs over what RTÉ pays some of its star presenters.
Last month, D’Arcy announced he was leaving Today FM to take over the RTÉ Radio One slot previously occupied by Derek Mooney from 3pm to 4.30pm.
His new programme is due to start next week and the veteran broadcaster is also due to undertake a number of television projects with the station.
The 50-year-old’s salary at RTÉ is reported to be as high as €500,000, but D’Arcy insisted recently that he was being paid less than what he earned at Today FM.
RTÉ discloses the salaries of its stars every two years with their latest recruit’s pay to be made public in 2017.
Doherty said today she had been assured that the 18-month, six-figure sponsorship deal that RTÉ struck with Volkswagen recently would “more than cover the salary”.
She also claimed that half of the top 10 presenter salaries in Ireland are in the independent sector with RTÉ accounting for the other half.
An unimpressed O’Donovan said that the disclosure of RTÉ’s top salaries every two years would “not be acceptable anywhere else in the public sector”.
He quipped: “If this was Irish Water, there’d be Prime Time Specials from here to kingdom come.”
Doherty said that the information was commercially sensitive but she would take his concerns to the board and get their view.
She said that RTÉ had cuts costs dramatically in recent years with staff numbers reduced and operation costs reduced by €130 million.
She said that money spent on content “is being very tightly spent”.
Doherty, the co-creator of the Riverdance phenomenon, also confirmed to TDs and Senators that she is not, nor has she ever been, a member of a political party.
Is there something I’m not getting here? She keeps saying she’s going to negotiate, and the EU keep saying that they’re not going to reopen negotiations. Genuine question, how’s that gonna work?
@Sean Murphy: It won’t but it’ll buy her a few more weeks to think of something else, she’s just running down the clock to the deadline and hoping minds are changed when faced with the cliff edge.
@Sean Murphy: missing nothing, political version of a “swing and a miss”.
@Sean Murphy: Even wierder than that, two weeks ago she herself was saying in Westminster that there is no scope to renegotiate. Unfortunately, people in Ireland cannot afford to laugh at this farsical state of affairs.
@Sean Murphy: she is placating the ERG who want her to do it. She will come back again humiliated then MPs will have to vote for either her deal or no deal BREXit.
Over here there are government ministers saying on Twitter if it comes to it we will prioritise meds over food for imports!
I’m Scottish, I live there now after 10 years in Ireland. I’m looking to move back ASAP. I just can’t believe my ex wife talked me out of getting Irish citizenship!
@Kevin Macdonald: hope that goes well for you pal, the scots are our closest ancestral nation.
Here are 7 options she could try to make the deal work:
1. Tell Arlene Foster to get stuffed.
2. Tell Sammy Wilson to get stuffed.
3. Tell Nigel Dodds to get stuffed.
4. Tell Jeffrey Donaldson to get stuffed.
5. Tell Boris Johnson to get stuffed.
6. Tell Jacob Rees-Mogg to get stuffed.
7. Tell all the rest of the Brexiteers to get stuffed.
@George Sheils: that’s a lot of turkeys to stuff!
The brits with their superiority complex are taking this to the wire in the firm belief that Johnny Foreigner needs them more than they need him and will crack at the last minute and give them what they want.
They remind me of the people who put up a post on their Facebook page that they reject Facebook’s terms and conditions… Equally style of thinking or lack of same.
If May goes back to the EU, I expect it to be very embarassing for her, the UK and parliament. It’s time to wake up, 59 days to go.
I just love seeing the auld empire brigade self destruct- yearning for times past and putting their foot on the head of its subjects but one has grown confident enough to say good bye and don’t forget to shut the door on the way out
Looks to be leading their beloved empire off a waterfall.i hope the EU remain firm as Britain implodes itself.feckin ejits
Either way they are not going to get the deal they want. The EU can’t afford to give out any more concessions as it will encourage other members to think about membership. The reality is that the EU has a stranglehold over all its members through trade agreements, regulations, financial penalties and treaties. You can leave but they’ll rip up apart before you do. Bastion of democracy.
@Windom Earle: Everyone has a choice in life, the UK is free to leave but please don’t expect the world to roll over for you its rather pathetic.
@Windom Earle: The UK is a member who signed all these agreements and treaties
Why doesn’t Ireland join the UK? Leave all the decision making to the English majority. Look at SNP’s (Scotland MPs) defeated by 288 votes with their amendment in Westminster today!! And to think the English moan about the EU being undemocratic … the UK is the most colonial political system on the planet. Michel Barnier negotiated the Irish backstop on behalf of the ROI (“Southern Ireland”) and now ROI holds the leverage over the UK, and they hate it!!
@David Jacobsen: eh how about cos the UK is a laughing stock for last two years?
@David Jacobsen: After watching their performance over the last two years, I wouldn’t trust them with my car, let alone our country.
Whats to say the EU won’t renegotiate when faced with the option of a no deal BREXIT? Or that the EU won’t throw us under the bus?
Looks like we’re going to get a brand new look at the Brady Bunch
The Brady amendment is a Trojan horse, the government is supporting it as a means of party management and smoke and mirrors by basically diffusing the situation by promising the backbenchers a chance for further input on Feb 13.. so basically it’s to stop all the other amendments gaining traction for a pocket full of promises that only help the clock tick down.
She will return from Brussels empty handed and civil war within the conservative party will ensue and the UK will be no nearer a deal, but have put any notion of there not being a no deal firmly to bed.
I think this vote shows the pathetic standard of British politics.
They may as well vote for a flat earth such is their disillusion.
A slow moving car-crash, awful to watch … no adults in charge, little/no collaboration, lack of vision around what’s actually good for the UK, lack of leadership in Tories and Labour, and the huge divide between pro-Brexit and Remain (within parties, in House of Commons and across UK) means narrative is unbelievably simplistic and deluded (‘firepower to renegotiate’, ‘chaos’ in EU, etc) … they’re marching closer to a hard exit, but don’t realise it themselves!!
Here comes the Bus and Leo is powerless to stop it. It’s all down to the EU now. Are they to be trusted? NO.
@Dave Doyle: this is a bit over your head.er me explain. The EU knows the threat of crash out will also be used in trade negotiations so they might as well call the EU bluff now and keep the backstop than have to call it later and have lost the backstop. EU and Ireland have been excellent in the negotiations, their consistency and respectfulness. Uncomfortable for a hurlers on the ditch who like to whinge on here I know.
I almost feel embarrassed for them, almost!
When will the realise it’s 1 vs 27 lol
Imagine a field sport with them odds.
Genuine GUBU
Applying business tactics to politics never seems to work I don’t know people keep trying.
They ARE a global joke now about being stupid.
The EU have got no cake,so UK.you cant have it,or eat it.
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