RTÉ says it has been prevented by the Data Protection Commission from revealing details of the outside activities and earnings of staff and contractors working at the broadcaster.
In a statistical report issued on Thursday, RTÉ said that in February and March of this year it approved 133 instances of external activity. It said the payment involved was greater than €10,000 in less than 1 per cent of these cases.
In 26 per cent of cases the payment involved was between €1 – €1,000; in 22 per cent it ranged from €1,001 – €5,000 and in one case it was between €5,001 – €10,000. In half of all cases there was no payment or benefit involved, RTÉ said.
The broadcaster said it has asked the Government to change data protection legislation to allow it to publish details of outside earnings and activities of staff and contractors.
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It said the register of external activities applied to all staff and contractors who were engaged in RTÉ's editorial output.
“Typically, it is on-air people who are asked by outside interests to undertake an external activity because of their public profile. However, it may arise that those in certain editorial roles (decision making roles, or with significant input into editorial decisions) may be asked to engage in an external activity, for example, editors, producers, etc, and in such cases this form will apply.”
RTÉ said it had initially planned to publish details on the identity of the person who received approval for external activity as well a brief description of what was involved and the amount received within specific pay bands.
Summary of 133 activities by value
| Proportion of activities | Value of activities |
|---|---|
| 50% | No payment/ benefit |
| 26% | €1 – €1,000 |
| 22% | €1,001 – €5,000 |
| 1 - 2% | €5,001 – €10,000 |
| < 1% | Over €10,000 |
However, it said the Data Protection Commission had advised that in order to publish a public register containing such level of detail, “specific legal underpinning in the form of primary or secondary legislation will be required”.
It said the commission had advised it would invoke its statutory powers if publication at the level of detail originally proposed had taken place in the absence of appropriate legislation.
“The Data Protection Commission has confirmed to RTÉ that it has no objection to the creation and compilation of the register of external activities for internal management purposes.”
RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst said the company wanted to “provide greater transparency around external activities” and it was his “intention to publish details as announced previously”.
“RTÉ has made a written request to the Department (of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media) to proceed with legislation and we acknowledge the readiness of the Data Protection Commission to assist in this process,” he said.
Mr Bakhurst said the operation of the register of external activities had not been impacted by the block on publication of the detailed information and staff and contractors were still required to provide the relevant information when seeking approval for an external activity.
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