Met office forecasters come in from the RTE cold

Mr Gerald Fleming will be the first meteorologist to return to the screen when he presents the weather on Monday following weeks…

Mr Gerald Fleming will be the first meteorologist to return to the screen when he presents the weather on Monday following weeks of negotiations between Met Eireann and RTE.

In a joint statement yesterday, the organisations said the new arrangements will include both Met Eireann forecasters and RTE's own presenters.

The new system will once again see meteorologists, including Mr Fleming, Ms Evelyn Cusack and Ms Joan Blackburn, presenting the main weather broadcasts on RTE 1 after the 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. news and in the mid afternoon.

The current presenters, Ms Neasa Curran, Mr Brian Cummins and Ms Nuala Carey, will broadcast after the news at 1 p.m. Both groups will also present the weather on Network 2.

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Two more meteorologists have yet to be chosen by RTE.

Five weeks ago Mr Joe Mulholland, RTE's managing director of television, acknowledged it had been a mistake to remove the meteorologists.

Mr Declan Murphy, director of Met Eireann, said it was a "satisfactory response" to the public interest. He said Met Eireann with RTE remained committed to providing "an excellent service".