Media

Media regulator to carry out regular reviews into RTÉ public funding under new proposed reforms

Legislation will ‘enhance accountability, transparency and value-for-money in our public service media’, says Minister

The Government approved funding for RTÉ during the summer of €725 million over three years. Photograph: Colin Keegan/Collins Dublin
Martin Wall
Tue Oct 08 2024 - 19:30

The media regulator Coimisiún na Meán would carry out a review every three years into the adequacy of public funding for RTÉ under new reforms put forward by the Government.

Minister for Media Catherine Martin said proposed new broadcasting legislation will “enhance accountability, transparency and value-for-money in our public service media providers, RTÉ and TG4, and establish a new statutory framework to support the provision of public service content by the wider sector”.

The proposed new legislation comes in the wake of controversy over governance and spending at RTÉ last year.

The Government approved funding for RTÉ during the summer of €725 million over three years.

READ MORE

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the general scheme of a new broadcasting Bill which, among other issues, will seek to reform the legislation underpinning corporate governance in RTÉ and TG4. However, it remains unclear if the new legislation will be enacted before the general election.

The Department of Media said the Minister would now refer the Bill to an Oireachtas committee for pre-legislative scrutiny.

“That process will be a matter for the Joint Oireachtas Committee in the first instance.”

The proposed legislation would see the Comptroller and Auditor General assigned as auditor of RTÉ and would include other measures to strengthen the authority, role and functions of the boards of RTÉ and TG4.

RTÉ's active trading subsidiaries will continue to be audited by a regulated private sector firm.

The department said the new legislation would provide Coimisiún na Meán with “greater authority to identify targets, assess performance, and hold RTÉ and TG4 to account for their performance”.

The proposed legislation says the commission should carry out a review by June 30th, 2027 and every three years thereafter. It would then issue a recommendation of the level of public funding, broken down by current and capital expenditure, necessary for each media provider to fulfil their public service objectives.

Under the proposed new legislation, the department said, “while RTÉ and TG4 will submit proposed performance commitments and associated funding requirements in accordance with the review methodology, it will ultimately be the regulator which identifies performance commitments and recommends associated funding requirements”.

Coimisiún na Meán would have to publish the methodology by which it would undertake the review following a public consultation.

The new legislation also removes a potential Government veto over the director general of RTÉ.

Under the proposed legislation, if the board sought to remove a director general from office, a statement would have to be provided in writing to the Minister which would subsequently be laid before the Oireachtas.

Ms Martin said she providing additional public funding “required reform, stronger transparency, accountability and value-for-money”.

She said the reforms would also ensure the independence of public service media providers from Government. She said the existing broadcasting fund would be converted to a “platform-neutral” media fund.

Meanwhile RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst told staff that a formal decision on plans for a redundancy scheme was a few weeks away. The broadcaster has sought 40 departures this year.

It is understood that headcount in the organisation has fallen by about 100 in the last 12 months.

Martin Wall

Martin Wall

Martin Wall is the former Washington Correspondent of The Irish Times. He was previously industry correspondent