RTÉ accused of outsourcing creation of Irish language content to TG4

Senator says as the national broadcaster RTÉ has a responsibility to Irish speakers that was not being fulfilled. Picture: Mark Stedman

RTÉ has been accused of outsourcing the creation of Irish language content to TG4, a charge the broadcaster has denied.

Fine Gael senator Seán Kyne said that as the national broadcaster, RTÉ has a responsibility to Irish speakers that was not being fulfilled.

Mr Kyne, Fine Gael Seanad spokesperson on the Irish Language, said the broadcaster's Irish language radio station had done excellent work but that Seachtain na Gaeilge meant a renewed focus on RTÉ's output.

“Notwithstanding the excellent work of RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta – which next month celebrates 50 years on air – RTÉ is failing in other areas, such as television and online, when it comes to the Irish language.

“At times, there appears to be an attitude that providing Irish language content is a job solely for TG4. This is not the case and RTÉ has a duty to everyone, Irish language speakers as well as English language speakers.

My Kyne said: “RTÉ states that its vision is ‘to champion Irish culture by captivating audiences with trusted, engaging and challenging content; celebrating our country’s rich diversity; and cultivating Ireland’s talent’. The Irish language is central to our culture and is part of our country’s rich diversity and therefore must be included in RTÉ’s vision."

In a statement to the Irish Examiner, RTÉ said it employs more journalists working in the Irish language than every other news organisation on the island of Ireland combined; and that it had exceeded its goals in a 2019 review of its Irish language content.

"It is RTÉ News that makes Nuacht TG4 and produces 7Lá for TG4. Every evening, the biggest audience of any TV programme in Irish is Nuacht RTÉ on RTÉ One, while the RTÉ News channel carries both an earlier edition of Nuacht RTÉ and also shows both Nuacht TG4 as well as 7Lá."

Mr Kyne said that there are practical changes RTÉ could make on its website and TV offerings such as a link to the ‘Nuacht’ page on RTE.ie and updates on RTÉ News Now channel providing an hourly news update ‘as Gaeilge’. However, RTÉ said that this plan was misguided.

"RTÉ is exploring how we might further serve Irish speakers and those who have an interest in the Irish language. However, additional programming for the RTÉ News Channel is not the place to do that. Hourly ‘updates’ would not be a small change, but would require a significant investment."

The broadcaster said that users of its app can add, remove and change the order of content, meaning that Nuacht can be the first tab after the landing page.

"In 2019 RTÉ committed to a three-year plan to increase our Irish content on our linear channels. The plan is now in its final year and to date, RTÉ has over-delivered on the commitment. In 2020 RTÉ committed to delivering 530 hours and broadcast over 700 hours by year end. In 2021, RTÉ committed to delivering 570 hours and broadcast over 900 hours by year end. Over 1,000 hours is broadcast annually on the RTÉ player and nearly 9,000 hours across our radio services. "