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A ROW HAS developed within RTÉ after Communications Minister Denis Naughten said he wants the State broadcaster to publish the salaries of all those who earn over €100,000 a year.
As things stand, RTÉ publishes a list of its top 10 earners every two years. However, it is hoped that the broadcaster will become more transparent by publishing a longer list of salaries on an annual basis.
There have been calls for greater clarity within Montrose after the BBC released a full breakdown of its highest earners. It emerged that many women were not earning as much as their male counterparts.
We’re asking: Is it fair to ask RTÉ’s higher-earners to reveal their salaries?
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If the TV licence payer is paying for it, they deserve to know
@Tweety McTweeter: Does the same apply to all public servants? what about a company where you fund the salaries by buying the product they provide…are you also entitled to know what each individual staff member earns?
@Mary Murphy: the wage scales for public servants and Government officials are public knowledge – you can access them online. Anyone can submit a FOI for a breakdown of someone’s wages/expenses if they work in the public sector…
Charities funded by the state are expected to publish detailed accounts annually which include staff wages.
So why not RTE?! They are state funded too!
@Mary Murphy: yes i would be if I’m forced to buy their product even if i don’t want it, more so if they are seeking to put up the compulsary price.
RTE need to move to a pay per view model then they will have to cut their cloth to meet there audience support.
@Vic’s Burd: This is not wage scales…it is individual salaries? Public sector does not release individual salaries and also does not name the people at a given salary scale. What salary do you earn and your name and address please?
@tom: Nobody is forcing you to have a TV or radio.
@Mary Murphy: Sweden does that, you can checkout anyones salary. Probably why they have lower wage inequality.
@Mary Murphy: may I refer you to the BBC and other state broadcasters that may be slightly less corrupt.
@Ro Brett: and Norway too. In both of these countries you will hear stories of kids being bullied about what their parents earn (high or low) and sure while you are at it give criminals information on who has money so they knew exactly who to target.
@Greg Blake: yes and I see the big bill coming their way now they have to increase salaries to give wage equality.
@Mary Murphy: you still have to pay the license fee.
@Mary Murphy: you must remember TV license is like TAX, it is Public Money, and you are forced to pay it , so therefore it is not like buying goods to support a company.
@Vic’s Burd: Public Sectors pay scales can easily be found online, once you know what level a person is you can work out their pay scale and you’ll have an idea of the range of money they can be paid. The information isn’t really hidden.
@Tomasz Irlandczik Krótki: factually incorrect if you don’t have equipment to watch TV you don’t have to pay the licence
@Eugene Comaskey: factually incorrect if you don’t have equipment to watch TV you don’t have to pay the licence
@Mary Murphy: You might or might not be entitled to know the wages of people working at RTE but those who get overpaid should be common knowledge, most of them would work for half if threatened with redundancy or if they were paid according to their level of skill or talent.
@Barry Somers: Yes but do you know what grade the nurse living next door to you is? She could be earning from 13,083 to 112,052.
@Tweety McTweeter: I suppose . But one way or another they are not relevant . Is not like it will make their employer see sense anyway
@Mary Murphy:
I pay my TV licence every year. I want to know what my money is paying for. That’s the end of the discussion no matter how many arms and legs you want to add to it.
@Alan Farrell: I pay my taxes every year…do I have the right to know the individual salary of every individual person who earns a living from these taxes?
@Mary Murphy: but you dont have a choice with the tv licence.you have to have one or you end up with a fine or prison. I dont thin Adidas have the same policy
@Mary Murphy: not really buying a product it’s more like forced to buy who honestly wants to watch rte?
@Mary Murphy: I do not need RTE, get that trough your head PLEASE !
We are FORCED to pay for something we do not want or will need ever again
I watch all foreign TV
My TV costs me more money every year
In return i get nothing
@Mary Murphy: we have no choice but to fund rte even when we don’t watch it , so I apologise to no one for demanding this info!!
@Liam O Connor: I pay my taxes every year…should I be entitled to know the exact salary of every public servant?
@Mary Murphy: So I guess you are one of those high RTE earners then?!?
@Mark Trudgeon: shhhhhhhh…it’s a secret. Just afraid of the slippery slope and the precedent it sets. Seen it first hand when I was in a job where details of my personal finances where legally accessible by my employer….so my boss got to know about my personal financial situation (which was subsequently used against me in wage negotiations as they thought they could turn the screw on me…what they didn’t know was what the other half had which saved my ass)
@Tweety McTweeter: and also the exorbitant salaries is probably why the new director of RTE wants to up the licence to 170 euros or whatever it is she’s looking for
@Mary Murphy: you’re having a laugh! a nurse does NOT earn 112,052! jesus! nurses have one of the lowest salaries in Ireland along with new teachers. More qualified teachers earn MORE than a nurse does.
@Ruth McCann: Sorry you are correct its’s not 112,052. It’s 112,652
https://www.inmo.ie/salary_information
But hey never let sentiment get in the way of hard facts
@Mary Murphy: I play games on a tv, So i have to pay for rte
The high earners should be cut to €100k and get a cut of the advertising revenue they bring in.
If they are as popular and critical to RTE as they think they are, let the viewers decide.
@alphanautica:
Exactly, just put a maximum figure on earnings, without revealing peoples private affairs.
The mad thing is the Central Bank is subject to a salary cap while RTE doesn’t seem to be.
What a silly question – They are a public service broadcaster.
Paid for by licence fee (taxation)
If RTÉ misspends money, they waste our money.
Of course we need to know!!!!
@ads2⃣️0⃣️1⃣️0⃣️1⃣️: I agree but what I don’t understand is the BBC get the money from the licence fee and they don’t advertise. RTE get the fee and money from advertising.
@Gillian Weir Scully: It’s very simple and the part of the RTE project Dee Forbes fails to talk about is incompetence and mismanagement. Two sources of revenue and still leaking money and like always the taxpayer is expected to cough up and resolve their problems. Sound familiar?
@Gillian Weir Scully: Maybe the fact that there is a much larger population in Britain than in Ireland means they don’t need advertising revenue?
@Gillian Weir Scully: it’s very simple to understand actually. There are 65 million people in the the UK, 5.5 million here.
@Gillian Weir Scully: bigger population in the UK. Simple as that
The relevant minister needs to wade into RTE with a machete and clean up the situation once and for all and end this debate. Offer a good but realistic salary to all concerned on a “take it or leave it” basis.
Give me netflix anyday
@Eoin: what’s the local news like on Netflix 3
@john: It’s great if you open another tab on the browser, access to news in every shape or form, you know… t’internet.
@john: if only there were other sources for news than RTE 1 and 2…….
@john: “what’s the local news like on Netflix 3″
Well the beauty of it John is that if I don’t want to know thats ok because Im not FORCED to pay
@john: Would it be as biased?
@john: perfect response !
Of course it is reasonable. Public bodies publish the salary scales for their staff. Councils, hospitals, schools, government departments, etc., they’re all on standard salary scales, and where they deviate, it is explained and public. Sure, RTE will make the case that they are not public, but a very significant part of their funding is public money, so the rules should be the same. Take public procurement, for example, where, regardless of the legal structure of the procuring body, it is the source of the funding which determines whether public procurement rules must apply. But on the bigger issue of pay levels to our so-called entertainment stars, I’ve always wondered how someone like Ryan Tubridy could be paid more in this country than if we managed to recruit the world’s best oncologist – even if only from a purely cost-benefit analysis. It’s the emperor’s new clothes, and it’s time to call it for what it is. There are lots of people out there who could do the job as well asTubbers & co, and it’s time to let the market dictate.
They receive public funding, it’s not only fair it should be required.
It was the lavish lifestyle financed by the pin to the collar taxpayer that ultimately contributed to the death of Gerry Ryan.
@Dave Hogan: yeah, thats why he died ! Oh and also the cocaine !
@Stephen Cumbers: I agree that comment was poor but in fairness the lavish lifestyle , including the any additives , were paid for by the big salary.
How dare you ask how much money you’re giving me.
All public sector salaries should be a matter for public record.
Not only should the salaries be published but the full details of additional allowances, benefits and expenses should also be available.
All jobs that are substantially funded from the public purse should also have the salaries published, such as CEOs of Charity Organisations, Nursing homes, Provision centres etc, funded by Dept of Health or Social Welfare.
Id say even the dinner ladies are on 275k a year in that place.
Iv never heard of an organisation constantly crying poverty while at the same time paying partime presenters with little or no tallant hundreds of thousands a year.
Its an old fashioned out dated organisation that serves absolutly no purpose getting massive subsidies from the state, it needs to be wound down and licence fees abolished.
We suffer from a lack of transparency in all matters associated with public service. Of course people paid with public funds should have salaries made public. One of the Nordic countries publishes the entire national public payroll. And no one quibbles about it. We need to get over the veil of secrecy in our culture.
It’s my licence fee which I’m forced to pay by law that pays theses people. I’m entitled to know what I’m being forced to pay them.
@Jaune Fujisawa: I paid the licence fee (very reluctantly) this summer as there was a heavy blitz by inspectors in my area. However the fare this summer has been worse than abysmal – Francis Brennan in Vietnam, Daniel O Donnell Show, Saturday Night with Miriam, Today with Daithi and Maura (on repeat). Not to mention the substandard coverage of the hurling championship. Won’t be renewing licence in 2018.
@John Ryan: They’ll come after you – you would have to get rid of your tv.
If it’s too upsetting for these “stars” to let the taxpayer know how our money is spent, I am sure they can move to a private media company where they will receive the same or better pay.
@David Knight: Kenny tried it !!! Ha !
We pay for it, there needs to be full disclosure of all money spent at the dinosaur. As for the gender equality row brewing. The males in RTE need their money reduced to bring it into line with their female counterparts, not the other way around. The station as it stands is a complete waste of money!
@Séa Graham: Very little turn over in higher paid presenters in RTE, they know the would not be paid near as much by other TV companies, and what about their perks subsidized canteen, free hairdo’s, and wardrobe.
Also it would be interesting to see the amounts of money being paid to outside production and services companies that are owned by people within RTE and how those contracts are awarded?
If RTE was a private entity then it would be their own business but its not, it is supported by public money, so people have a right to know how that money is being spent.
yeah bankers business people and anyone else youd care to think should also reveal their income….
@Michael Griffin: the issue is the source of their remuneration – public money should be used sensibly, given fairly, and accounted for properly. If all of that is done, then there’s nothing to hide and RTE can stand over their payments.
@Dr Richard DeWitt: and by that standard, yes bankers pay *should* be open to public scrutiny.
@Robert Rusk: if publicly funded, of course.
The publication of the top ten earners in RTE every two years has always been a bit of a red herring, it focuses public outcry on a few individuals for a period of time, then it’s business as usual.
It would be far more revealing to see how many people in RTE are getting from over €100000 up to the astronomical levels of tubs and co per year, people that nobody outside RTE has ever heard of!
Thier salaries should be private just as everyone elses salaries should be private but they should be reduced. If any business is loosing money and has high earners like that, they should review their finances. The only difference between RTE and a private business is that they are partly funded by citizens. Because of this there should be a special exception to their contracts that dictates that pay will correlate with the economy and tv licenses paid/money received and how many people are facing court and jail because of no TV license. If you are paying one employee hundreds of thousands while people who can afford a license(part of thier wages) go to jail there is something wrong with the system. Just as TD’s and retired TD’s pay and pension should be reviewed.
@epo eire: Everyone elses salary isn’t private. You can find out what many people in the public service are paid as the information is available online freely. You can view the accounts and returns of any registered business too. It’s all public information.
They carry more passengers than Dublin Bus. Overpaid and under-worked.
@John Quinn: Good one ! Let’s ask Dublin Bus who’s the most popular driver in the company with the passengers and ask them does he get extra for being so nice to people !
What I’d like to know is how much they make after they have put their wages through the companies that they set up for themselves to avoid paying their full share of tax
Need to raise TV license fee to them. But reveal their salary !
Fu(k off ….
This gender equal pay nonsense needs to stop, its absurd. Marian Finnucane has little cry about about and its telling she’s not. Sharon is 10 years behind Dobson in the service stakes. This is about Talent (albeit one has to question TURDbidy, Duffys and the ghastly Mooney’s Talent, but at least he did the decent thing and went to an obscure slot on Saturday where i no longer have to hear Byeeeeeeeeeeeee), Ratings and by all accounts a good agent. Is is being seriously suggested all the women in RTE have their salaries raised to match Marian’s or perhaps have her and Dobson reduce theirs? Madness.
@Joseph Dempsey: Marian’s programme this week was soooo bad! And really glad Tubity is of the radio as it gave space for some talent and interesting interviews rather than insincere tosh. In balance they could do with a pay cut without even knowing how much they are paid.
@Joseph Dempsey: Its called equality! WE are ENTITLED to earn the same as men do! Doesn’t matter what industry you’re in or pay grade you get, women deserve to be treated as equal! that goes for pay too! It’s not JUST RTE that has this scandal, BBC and ITV are at it too.
are the rte reporters sitting on 10s of millions of euros and large pay checks? would it affect their reporting if they where less taxes for the top earners in Ireland etc. Would be good to know if they really are being honest with the audience
Yes we employ them and fund their wages, we should know. It should be optional like Netflix, Amazon etc… If you want you pay the monthly prescription.
Why is it that anything that happens in the UK becomes a think in Ireland a week later?
Really? British MPs abused their expenses and were suspended, tried and jailed. Nothing like that has ever happened in Ireland.
I think it is fair but the claims of pay gaps based on sex is a problem. The high earners are going to be based on experience and time working there. Brian Dobson has been there a long time so no surprise he gets paid more than the person beside him
@Kal Ipers: Is he not also the chief of news?
@Kal Ipers: but he doesn’t wear sexy clothes !!!
Given the disproportion/ratio of female to male presenters, along with the huge inequalities of salary, to the benefit of the male gender its important that we know whose getting what since rte has been very quick to make sure other companies reveal their salary. Time to show transparency! Walk the talk
It’s really odd, a small country with a relatively small population have such a large TV conglomerate in the capital city.
Move them to a commerical park in Athlone somewhere and let them compete with minimum state funding, that would sort out their grossness.
What about also publishing the salaries of the majority of those in front of the camera in Ireland that earn pittance? The well known actors and presenters that have to do other jobs to earn a living, while the general population think they’re rich because they’re on tv, and sometimes harass them over doing other jobs.
Of course it is…
sure how else are commenters here supposed to be incensed to the point of implosion if they dont know how much someone is earning!
No disclosure….no licence. Full disclosure….licence. Simples…
Are some comments being blocked on this thread?
@David Van-Standen: nevermind had to post in two posts even though the post it was under the 800 characters limit!
@David Van-Standen: Yes RTE are moderating :)
The salaries of the “top” presenters has always been nothing short of outrageous
The salary of Mammian Finucane irks the most with 4 hours weekend work and no doubt a pile of researchers to hand her notes on a plate before every show .
Codology of the highest order .
Name and shame these scoundrels.
@Gerard J. Hannan: R. T, and E.
If it’s from public money then the public should know. We all know the amounts are obscene anyway and the job they do is crap. Watching a film on RTÉ the other night and it’s stopped for news and lotto numbers. Are they actually for real? No doubt the sap who came up with that idea is on about 100k.
RTE needs a huge clean up from top to bottom. Also where is the money they get from advertising go? The licence fee and product placement support the production of shows like Fair City and The Late Late Show. So where is that cash going?
have your say