RTÉ expert advisory committee members to earn up to €66,000 each for 110 days of work

Members of expert groups advising on the corporate governance and culture of RTÉ will earn up to €66,000 per year for their work.

The six members of the two panels are eligible for a daily allowance of €600 – with the chair eligible for €700 per day – for up to 110 days per year work, according to documents released under Freedom of Information laws.

Three of the members, including the chair of one of the committees, have waived their fees. Prof Niamh Brennan and Dr Margaret Cullen, both academics from UCD, and Patricia King, former general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions will not be taking the payments they are eligible for.

In addition to the fees, the remaining three members of the expert advisory committees (EACs) will be eligible for travel and subsistence allowances, with up to another €215 allowed for meals and accommodation under government spending rules.

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The committees are undertaking reviews of the broadcaster following a scandal-hit year for RTÉ in 2023, initiated by the emergence of undisclosed payments to star presenter Ryan Tubridy amounting to €225,000.

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Mr Tubridy later left the station after a summer of controversy which saw RTÉ executives, the presenter and board members undergo hours of intensive questioning at Oireachtas committees.

In the wake of the revelations, licence fee income dropped significantly at the broadcaster. According to the Department of Arts and Culture, total TV licence sales recorded in 2023 amounted to 824,278, compared to 947,924 in 2022.

The reduction of 123,646 TV licences, equivalent to 13 per cent, translated to a loss in gross revenue from this source of €19.8 million last year, the department said.

The expert groups are examining the governance structures and organisational culture of RTÉ, as well as the mechanisms by which external contractors are engaged, the fees paid and the use of agents. They are expected to report in the first quarter of this year, with Minister for Arts and Culture Catherine Martin due to be given interim reports as they go along.

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According to briefing materials given to Ms Martin, the members will be expected to take an “active role” in the reviews, including grappling with documentation provided by RTÉ, the department and NewERA – the body that oversees value for money in State bodies – and interacting with trade unions and other interested parties including the Oireachtas and Ms Martin.

A spokesman for the Department of Arts and Culture said the fees were considered appropriate given the scope of the reviews to be undertaken and the expertise and experience required for the work. “The fees were determined having regard to per diem rates paid to similar expert committees.

“The committees may undertake up to 110 days work per annum. However, the actual days worked to complete the respective reviews and report to the Minister are a matter for each committee,” the spokesman added.

*An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Prof Brennan and Dr Cullen were not eligible for the fees as they were public servants. In fact, Dr Cullen, Prof Brennan and Ms King were all entitled to the fees but chose to waive them.

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