RTÉ may sell off HQ to fund investment

The head of RTÉ has suggested its Donnybrook site could be sold off to fund investment in broadcasting.

In her first public engagement with politicians, RTÉ director general Dee Forbes said the State broadcaster is under “very serious financial strain” and this has been exacerbated by Brexit.

With income from advertising plummeting, she hinted that part of the station’s Montrose site could be used to fund capital investment in television, radio, and online services.

Appearing before the Oireachtas Committee on Communications she refered to the 2015 New Era report, which made a number of recommendations, including the sale of the the 30-acre Montrose campus in Dublin 4 which would carry a multi-million price tag.

The report found that use of the site is “not optimal” with 40% of the campus either undeveloped or used as a car park.

Ms Forbes, who was appointed to RTÉ’s top position in April this year, told the committee: “New Era suggested that options regarding the use in part or whole of the RTÉ site in Donnybrook should be explored as a source of funds for capital investment.

“RTÉ would agree with each of those key observations and recommendations,” she said about the contents of the report.

Committee chair Hildegarde Naughton asked whether RTÉ had advanced any plans on selling the Donnybrook site.

Breda O’Keeffe, RTÉ chief financial officer, said the State broadcaster had already secured planning permission on the site and was looking at various options.

But she said any funds raised would have to go back into capital investment.

She added that it would be “reckless” to use the money from a sale to plug day-to-day costs.

“We have curtailed our own capital investment and it is within that context that any potential disposal proceeds would be used.”

She said that the New Era document had pointed to the need to invest to “maintain relevance” in a competitive and digital era.

“We have secured Planning Permission around creche and N11 entrances so we are developing options, but no final decisions have yet been made as we review those options,” Ms O’Keeffe told the committee.

Ms Forbes added that Brexit is having a “direct impact” on revenue from television advertising.

She said that while digital expansion and increasing competition “amplify the commercial challenges”, they have been made much more difficult by Ireland’s recent economic difficulties and the current uncertainty thrown up by unpredicted political events.

She said: “Advertising has improved over the past couple of years, but Brexit is now having a direct impact. Television advertising has been severely hit both here and in the UK. Just last week the Financial Times reported that ITV blamed uncertainty over hard or soft Brexit for a sharp drop in advertising revenues, which it warned could fall by as much as 7% in the final quarter of 2016.”

She said RTÉ was now developing a five-year plan with the BAI which would be published towards the middle of next year.