Gifts over €50 made to RTÉ staff to be recorded on register of interests

Any gift over €100 is 'declared and becomes the property of RTÉ'. Picture: Denis Minihane

RTÉ is to clamp down on gifts for its employees as two well-flagged registers of interest are set to formally go live for its staff.

In a message to staff, director general Kevin Bakhurst said the broadcaster was launching “formalised systems” to officially record gifts and conflicts of interest.

Under the new system, which was initially slated for launch at the start of February, staff are expected to formally record any gift with a “realistic valuation” of between €50 and €100 via a form which is then to be lodged with RTÉ’s human resources section.

Any gifts of less than €50 do not have to be declared, while anything over €100 “should not be accepted”.

“If it must be accepted,” Mr Bakhurst said, “then it is declared and becomes the property of RTÉ”.

The new system suggests that RTÉ stars’ use of high-profile perks such as ‘brand ambassador’ vehicles worth tens of thousands of euro will likely cease.

Kevin Bakhurst said gifts worth over €100 'should not be accepted'. Picture: Niall Carson/PA

The director general said the evaluation of gifts “may not be a precise science”, but that nevertheless a “reasonable valuation” should be made by the staff member in question when recording its receipt.

He noted that any declaration being made “must be submitted as soon as possible after a gift has been received”.

Separately, Mr Bakhurst said that a new conflict of interest register is also set to go live, which will differ from the register of interests which RTÉ staff must fill out retrospectively for the previous year each January.

“Given the nature of the work of RTÉ it is important that any conflicts or potential conflicts which may bring into question RTÉ’s impartiality are declared immediately,” he said, adding that the new register will have a wider purview than the annual register, and includes close family members and business associates as well as spouses and children.

“Declaring a conflict does not mean you will not be able to fulfil your work in RTÉ, nor will it harm your career prospects in any way,” Mr Bakhurst said.

“It is merely designed to ensure RTÉ is aware of any conflicts/potential conflicts and can manage the situation appropriately,” he said.