LAST UPDATE | 12 Oct 2023
RTÉ NEEDS TO get a government bailout and make significant cuts by spring or it will be insolvent, Director General Kevin Bakhurst has said.
However, he said compulsory redundancies is not an option on the table right now as it would require political sign-off.
Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee again this morning, he said:
If we didn’t get this cash, we would run out of cash, that’s for sure… It is worrying.
He was questioned by independent TD Verona Murphy, who asked whether RTE would become insolvent by early spring 2024 if the extra funding was not forthcoming.
“Yes,” replied Bakhurst.
He said RTE would remain solvent if it received the added funding from the Government and made its own cost-saving moves. The Government has asked RTE to make €21 million of efficiencies.
Bakhurst also told the PAC today that the trend of licence fee payments is down 30%, adding that the payments last week were down 39%.
Bakhurst appears before committee amid a dispute between the broadcaster and committee over the release of particular documents, Bakhurst said legal advice he has received advises against divulging the details of top earners salaries.
Senior management at RTÉ have been called to answer questions at the PAC several times since the scandal that unfurled this summer over its accounts.
The committee has obtained numerous records from the broadcaster with details of salaries, expenditure and other information pertinent to RTÉ’s financial decision-making in the wake of the revelations that presenter Ryan Tubridy’s income was understated in RTÉ’s public declarations.
However, the PAC and RTÉ are at an impasse over sharing details relating to a meeting with Tubridy’s agent Noel Kelly.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland, PAC chair Brian Stanley said that some of the committee’s work is “incomplete”.
“We want to get to a point where we can have a report and recommendations in terms of what needs to happen at RTÉ [but] there are outstanding issues regarding some documentation we haven’t received,” Stanley said.
“We have received nearly all its documentation we did request. However, there is there is one piece of correspondence that we would like to have and that’s the note of the meeting with Noel Kelly who is the agent for Ryan Tubridy,” he said.
“There was a legal representative from RTÉ there. RTÉ at first claimed that was legally privileged, which we questioned at the Public Accounts Committee. I suggested to them at one meeting that they had the power to waive that privilege if they so wish.
“They are now taking the position that is governed by client confidentiality. In other words, a solicitor giving advice to a party. That argument falls apart for the simple reason that there was a third party present at that meeting. Also, a client always has the right to waive any confidentiality. It’s the solicitor who has to maintain confidentiality.”
Labour TD Alan Kelly said today that the PAC would seek to compel RTÉ to provide a note related to a 2020 meeting between Dee Forbes and Kelly.
He said if the matter ends up in the courts, Bakhurst’s position as director general would not be tenable.
Kelly also pressed Bakhurst on why RTE had not named its 100 highest-earning presenters in a list disclosing their salaries.
The director-general said a legal opinion advised against naming the employees amid concerns over GDPR issues.
In his opening speech to the committee, Bakhurst said finances are being managed carefully and recent initiatives such as the freeze on recruitment of staff and stopping discretionary spending, alongside deferring some investment in digital and capital projects has saved several million Euro.
RTÉ’s commercial performance has been good, added Bakhurst. Cash reserves are “solid”, with the committee told there is €68 million in cash reserves.
There is €65 million in borrowings, he said. RTE’s losses for 2023 to date are in the “€10-12 million range,” according to financial controller Mike Fives.
Bakhurst also addressed the recent resignation of RTÉ’s Chief Financial Officer Richard Collins.
In July, it was announced that Collins was among the five members of the former Executive Board that had been stood down.
Collins featured prominently in the original Oireachtas Committee hearings in the immediate fallout of the controversy.
“Due to various legal restrictions, I am not in a position to comment further on that matter, but I can assure you that I will be moving to advertise for the role of CFO as soon as possible. This will be a priority appointment for the permanent leadership team, alongside the appointment of a new Commercial Director,” Bakhurst said.
Despite robust questioning by TD Verona Murphy, Bakhurst would not state if a financial exit package had been given to Collins and if he was asked to resign.
Minister for Media Catherine Martin has said that RTÉ will need to make €21 million in cutbacks if the licence fee does not recover.
The minister is is withholding additional funding of €40 million from RTÉ until it produces its strategic vision for reform. Interim funding of €16 million was allocated to RTÉ in the Budget this week.
Separately, Bakhurst confirmed that the register of interest, whereby presenters will have declare any commercial deals or gifts, will be ready by the end of the year. He said he understood it is important in terms of transparency and trust of the public.
He said the guidelines will clearly set out that videos and content will be permitted to be made by presenters on the RTÉ premises if it is for commercial reasons.
Bakhurst was also asked about RTÉ paying for flights for Irish CNN journalist Donie O’Sullivan to appear on The Late Late Show only for the appearance to be cancelled.
The Irish Examiner reports the cost of the flights were around €2,000 and could not to be recouped due to the last minute cancellation.
O’Sullivan did not appear on Patrick Kielty’s first show and The 2 Johnnies appeared in his place.
“Look, unfortunately, these things do happen in live programmes and changes in the cast and so on, and it’s very annoying in the current circumstances that we pay for an airfare and then can’t get it back.
“The only thing I would say is the Late Late Show has its own budget for this series and if they spend money on that they’ve got to find the saving somewhere else. So there are controls around the programme. So if they make this kind of decision they’ve got to find that saving somewhere,” said the director general.
Meanwhile, the issue of bogus self-employment in RTE and the ongoing conflict between management and staff to get their annual leave, sick leave, over-time, pension entitlements was raised with Bakhurst.
The director general told the committee that €20 million had been set aside for any tax and PRSI contributions that will need to be paid to Revenue, however, Bakhurst said this fund did not include any claims for leave or pension entitlement claims for those workers.
With reporting by Christina Finn
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