RTÉ director general to hold ‘town hall’ meetings with staff

RTÉ director-general Dee Forbes will hold a series of "town hall" meetings with employees on Wednesday to outline her plans for the financially troubled organisation.

Ms Forbes will explain at the three meetings why RTÉ decided to outsource the remaining in-house production of young people’s programming to the independent sector.

She is also expected to outline further cost savings for 2017, which is set to be another tough financial year for the broadcaster.

The proposed cutbacks may include a new voluntary redundancy scheme at RTÉ, which as of the end of last year employed 1,978 people, some 285 of them on part-time or casual arrangements. Some functions within the broadcaster may also be merged under the plan.

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RTÉ recorded a financial deficit of €2.8 million in 2015 and its deficit for 2016 could exceed €20 million after a year of expensive output such as the 1916 commemoration, the general election and sporting events combined with worse than expected advertising revenues.

Ms Forbes, who took up her position in July, told an Oireachtas communications committee last week that the UK's Brexit vote was having "a direct impact" on RTÉ.

‘Volatile’

The unexpected Leave vote in the June referendum on membership of the European Union, and the subsequent weakening of sterling, prompted the big television advertisers that decide their Irish marketing budgets out of London to cut their spending. In September, she described the market as "volatile".

Television advertising revenues have still grown in 2016, according to estimates from agency Core Media, but only by roughly half the 7 per cent forecast at the start of the year. Advertising revenues are also lower than RTÉ's internal forecasts at the beginning of 2016.

This means the wider Irish television market is on track to earn some €8 million less than was expected at the start of the year.

The broadcaster has reiterated that it does not intend to cut the budgets for young people’s programmes or retreat on its commitment to broadcast Irish children’s content.

The future of RTÉ2 comedy show Republic of Telly is also under review. But it is understood that, if it does not return in 2017, it will likely be replaced by another programme and there will be no overall cutback in comedy output.

RTÉ management was obliged on Friday to postpone its move to terminate the employment of 15 contractors in the young people’s programming department until the end of January. Following talks with its group of unions, management admitted it had breached a “guiding principles agreement” to consult with the unions on “significant issues”.