No presenter in RTÉ will earn over €250k a year by January 1, director general vows

RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst Picture: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

No presenter in RTÉ will earn more €250,000 a year by January 1, director general Kevin Bakhurst has vowed.

Mr Bakhurst also insisted he was "surprised" that former presenter Ray D’Arcy said he had "no inkling" about his recent departure from Radio 1, arguing that he had "plenty of warning" that changes were coming.

RTÉ published its annual statement for 2024 on Wednesday, including details of the broadcaster's highest-paid stars and executives.

Joe Duffy, who left Liveline in June, and Claire Byrne, who will leave Radio 1 for Newstalk, earned €351,000 and €280,000 respectively.

Host of The Late Late Show,Patrick Kielty, took home €257,657.

However, Mr Kielty could be in line for a pay cut as Mr Bakhurst said that no one will earn more than €250,000 in the new year.

"What I said was no one at RTÉ will earn more than the director general," he told RTÉ's  Drivetime.

"One thing I can say is that by the January 1 next year, that will be the case."

He argued that salaries of over €500,000 have already been brought "down to under the level of what the director general earns".

Mr Bakhurst said that corporate salaries have been "benchmarked" against competitors, noting that if "we want to create a world-class organisation, we need world-class people at the top table".

Separately, Mr Bakhurst said he "did not like" having to pay one executive a severance package of €475,000, but that this was agreed at the Workplace Relations Commission. 

He said there are "no plans" for any other payment of this magnitude.