RTÉ publishes €435,000 tender for printing services as minister slams 'disrespect' for staff

Tánaiste Micheál Martin told the Dáil he is dismayed by the 'clear absence' of proper governance at the broadcaster.

Golden handshakes at RTÉ are part of "a culture of the past" where there is little to no oversight, the Media Minister has said.

An external report into severance deals at RTÉ found that an exit package for its former chief financial officer was “not considered and approved” by the company's executive board, something Catherine Martin said was "quite shocking".

Ms Martin said the report showed "disrespect" for staff at RTÉ and that two upcoming reports to be given to her were "crucial" in reforming RTÉ.

"What we need to focus on is making sure it never happens again," she said.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin told the Dáil he is dismayed by the "clear absence" of proper governance at the broadcaster.

Mr Martin said the findings of a number of reports that have now probed various issues within the State broadcaster are concerning.

However, he urged the public to continue paying the TV licence fee until a new form of media funding is introduced.

Mr Martin told the Dáil: "What the Grant Thornton report reveals is unacceptable, including the absence of the RTÉ executive, for example, sanctioning redundancies and redundancies happening where in fact there was no suppression of jobs. The situation with the Toy Show was equally shocking. The €2 million loss was equivalent to the deficit at the time. Government shares that annoyance and anger and there are further reports coming."

Responding to Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty, the Fianna Fáil leader said he shares the "dismay at the unfolding events in RTÉ and the clear absence of proper governance in respect of a range of issues".

Printing services

Meanwhile, RTÉ has published a tender for a €435,000, three-year contract for a new provider of printing services. The tender calls for a "fully managed service, providing printer service support, upgrade and photocopying facilities for sites in Ireland".

"This tender seeks to establish a new contract which will provide an enhanced, value for money print and copy service to users while improving operational efficiency and controlling costs," it adds. An RTÉ spokesperson told the Irish Examiner the organisation "has a range of day-to-day printing requirements" including reliance on things like paper scripts and other printed documents. 

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The spokesperson said that "RTÉ has made great efforts to reduce the volume of printing in recent years with all paper waste being recycled or reclaimed".

In line with these changes, they added, RTÉ is "reducing the number of large printers from 96 to 57 and the number of printers in the print room from six to four, while also consolidating the number of laser printers in use. RTÉ continues to target further reductions in printing".

"The current printers in RTÉ were installed in 2015 and are reaching end of life. They are being replaced by more efficient and cost-effective models."