Taoiseach: RTÉ must prove it deserves €55.5m bailout 

 Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: 'We believe that the public won’t accept additional taxpayers' money being provided to RTÉ without a reform programme and one that’s being implemented.' Picture: Larry Cummins

RTÉ must prove it deserves a €55.5m bailout before any extra money is allocated, the Taoiseach has warned.

The State broadcaster has been plunged into a financial crisis with more than 131,000 households now expected to avoid paying the TV licence this year.

RTÉ anticipates a loss of up to €21m in TV licence fee revenue by the end of the year and has requested €34.5m in separate interim funding from the Government.

However, Leo Varadkar has insisted that the Government will not be providing a bailout unless a clear plan for reform and cost reductions is put forward in the coming weeks. He also warned households that enforcement action will be taken against people who fail to pay the TV licence and this drop in revenue will not simply be written off.

“Enforcement will continue,” Mr Varadkar said. “There are 32 people whose full-time job is to enforce the TV licence and the fact that a TV licence goes unpaid doesn’t mean that it’s written off.”

Media Minister Catherine Martin yesterday brought RTÉ's latest annual report to Cabinet which reveals a deficit of €2.8m last year. She also updated colleagues on a number of reviews being carried out in the wake of the Ryan Trubridy payment scandal.

RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst has been asked to prepare an action plan which is due to be delivered to Ms Martin in October.

It is understood a number of Ministers told the Cabinet meeting that they are so far "underwhelmed" by the response from RTÉ and made it clear to Ms Martin that additional funding will have to come with strict criteria attached.

While ministers accept that RTÉ is now under severe financial strain, sources say allocating top-up funding to the State broadcaster will be "politically challenging" as a result of the controversy surrounding payments to Mr Tubridy and the use of barter accounts.

Speaking after the meeting in Co Wicklow, Mr Varadkar said: “I think everyone understands that there will be additional funding required but it has to be conditional and we’re not going to be in a position as a Government to allocate any additional funding to RTÉ until we’ve seen the director general’s new strategy."

We believe that the public won’t accept additional taxpayers' money being provided to RTÉ without a reform programme and one that’s being implemented.

Ms Martin said interim funding will be provided, but she declined to detail how much, adding that the amount sought will have to be interrogated by the state financial advisory body NewERA.

“We need to see more of the cost-saving measures, for example the commitment in relation to presenters’ pay, we need to see more like the register of interests," she said.

Ms Martin added that a longer-term media funding model will also have to be addressed before the next election.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin suggested the TV licence fee should be replaced with a universal media charge as the State broadcaster faces a drop of more than €20m in revenue by the end of the year.

Mr Martin said a move to a universal fee would mean "an automatic higher income" but would also guarantee independence for the media from Government funding.

"The alternative is you pay the entire [amount] by direct Exchequer. That would undermine independence of Irish media," he said.

As well as recording a €2.8m deficit, RTÉ's 2022 annual report also revealed that RTÉ top executives had their pay restored by 10% last year.

“As part of cost reduction initiatives prior to the onset of the global pandemic, the members of the Executive had agreed to a salary reduction of 10%, this reduction was reinstated from September 2022,” it states.

The report shows that then director general Dee Forbes saw a basic salary increase of €8,000 up to €233,000 while her expenses increased from €2,119 in 2021 to €6,056 last year.