Bakhurst says he has confidence in minister but does not know if €20m RTÉ funding will be restored

Kevin Bakhurst described talks with Patrick O’Donovan as open and constructive after the Government reduced RTÉ’s expected 2027 funding

RTE director general Kevin Bakhurst said his meeting with Mr O’Donovan was “very positive” and described the relationship between them as good. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst has said he still has confidence in media minister Patrick O’Donovan but does not know whether the broadcaster will receive a further €20m in funding.

Mr Bakhurst said his meeting with Mr O’Donovan was “very positive” and described the relationship between them as good.

“It’s delicate enough and we want this process to be properly carried out,” Mr Bakhurst said.

“The relationship is good and it was a very open and constructive meeting.” Asked whether RTÉ would receive the €20m in funding, Mr Bakhurst said he did not know.

Asked whether he still had confidence in Mr O’Donovan, Mr Bakhurst said: “Absolutely, yes.” 

However, Mr Bakhurst declined to say whether he had been blindsided by Mr O’Donovan’s announcement on Budget Day.

Mr Bakhurst and RTÉ chair Terence O’Rourke were inside the Department of Culture for just over an hour.

He said RTÉ would work with officials in the department to "find a resolution to this".

No compulsory redundancies expected

The Government “does not expect” compulsory redundancies at RTÉ following the decision to reduce its 2027 funding from €260m to €240m, enterprise minister Peter Burke has said.

Mr Burke said the Government wanted to ensure reforms at the national broadcaster took place while keeping “cool heads”.

“What we need is to ensure that reforms in the national broadcaster take place, but also that we have cool heads,” Mr Burke said.

The enterprise minister said reforms at RTÉ have taken place, but the broadcaster has struggled to reduce its headcount through 380 voluntary redundancies and 60 retirements over five years.

He said the broadcaster is targeting fewer redundancies in 2027 than previously expected.

Pressed by Social Democrats TD Sinéad Gibney on whether compulsory redundancies would be sought by the Government, Mr Burke said they would not.

“Just to be very direct in the responses, the government does not expect compulsory redundancies,” Mr Burke said.

“RTÉ put forward its own plan on how to deliver reductions in staff within the national broadcaster, and we are holding them to account on that plan, like every Government should.” 

Ms Gibney said Mr O’Donovan was showing “anything but a cool head”, while Labour TD Duncan Smith accused the minister of holding “the public purse like a guillotine over RTÉ”.

Mr Burke said Mr O’Donovan would be working with the RTÉ board to “reinvigorate those reforms”.

“We want to ensure that we have planned implementation of the reforms, and money is continued under reforms. That's the key here,” Mr Burke said.

PAC seeks answers over funding cut

Meanwhile, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has called for both RTÉ and the Department of Culture to appear before it over the funding row.

Committee chairman, Sinn Féin’s John Brady, said the €20m funding cut “raises very serious concerns”.

“What programmes or areas of expenditure will now have to be cut back? What impact will this have on the reform programme that RTÉ committed to? What capital projects that are in progress may now need to be shelved?” Mr Brady said.

He described the row between Mr O’Donovan and Mr Bakhurst as “unedifying”, adding that the public requires clarity on the matter.