RTÉ’s strategic plan will present 'many challenges for staff'

The union said it would take time to scrutinise the proposals from RTÉ. Picture: Sasko Lazarov/© RollingNews.ie

RTÉ’s new strategic plan will present “many challenges for staff and must be subject to intense scrutiny and negotiation”, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has said.

The union said it would, in common with sister unions in the RTÉ group of unions, be taking time to scrutinise the proposals, but said it had deep reservations on the approach taken by director general Kevin Bakhurst and the RTÉ board to the future of the organisation.

As part of the new five-year strategy, RTÉ has said it aims to cut staffing numbers by 20%. It said this will “reduce headcount by up to 400” at a cost of around €50m. This will include 40 voluntary redundancies by the end of this year.

It will also see the production of flagship programmes such as Fair City and The Late Late Show outsourced and moved off site within the next five years. The strategy also envisions a new RTÉ Audio App, RTÉ News app, and investment in the RTÉ player.

In terms of its journalism, the strategy said that RTÉ will develop a dedicated disinformation unit in news and current affairs and the launch of a daily news podcast.

Séamus Dooley said that the national broadcaster should not be so heavily reliant on the effective outsourcing of signature programming. Picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

NUJ Irish secretary Séamus Dooley expressed concern about the long-term future of employment within RTÉ, and said that a “transformed” broadcaster should not be so heavily reliant on the effective outsourcing of signature programming.

“Any negotiations on the future direction of RTÉ will have to take place in the context of existing collective agreements and will require a radical change in the management culture of the organisation,” he said.

"A number of key measures to address fundamental issues relating to HR must be addressed as a matter of priority.

“The changes in corporate governance have not been matched by a change in management style in many parts of RTÉ.” 

Media Minister Catherine Martin said that “now is the time” to provide certainty on the future funding for public service broadcasting, as she indicated legislation is being prepared to reform the legislative basis for the governance of RTÉ.

In a statement, meanwhile, the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland urged the Government to consider that the survival of broadcast media in Ireland “is not just about RTÉ”.

Its chief executive, Michael Kelly, said: “Helping save news and current affairs in Ireland’s independent radio sector can be done at a small fraction of the funding provided for broadcasting overall. Action is urgently needed now.”