UK bureau victim of RTÉ's €50m deficit, says Rabbitte

RTÉ’s “RUNAWAY” financial crisis with a deficit of €50 million is “the only reason” for the decision to close its London office, Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte has told the Dáil.

He stressed that “RTÉ is an independent national public service broadcaster, whose remit and obligations are set out in law”. As Minister he had “no function in general day-to-day matters including decisions on closure or otherwise of any of the corporation’s overseas news bureaux”.

But he said that by the end of 2012 RTÉ’s deficit would reach €50 million, “an unconscionable sum, of which the great preponderance is in the redundancy programme. The organisation faces an acute financial crisis and I cannot acquiesce in it running a bottom line of that order.”

Mr Rabbitte was responding to Fine Gael Donegal TD Joe McHugh and Labour Dublin Mid-West TD Joanna Tuffy, who expressed serious concern at the broadcaster’s decision to close its London office, which costs about €800,000 a year to run.

Mr McHugh said it was “inexplicable that RTÉ has decided to withdraw a human resource element from the United Kingdom”. If a “significant event” happened there was no point buying an airline ticket and instructing a journalist “to board the next flight and get the story”.

Ms Tuffy said RTÉ’s decision to close its London office “is a matter of public interest”. She said the issue was raised in Westminster by SDLP MPs and a number of Labour and Conservative MPs. British-Irish relations were at a historical juncture and “if it was important to have a news office in London in the past it is just as important that RTÉ maintains such an office today”, she said.

The Minister said he was assured the “regrettable decision” to close the London bureau was not taken lightly by RTÉ.

He told the two Government backbenchers the broadcaster had a net deficit of €17 million in 2011.

Commercial revenue fell sharply from €240 million in 2008 to €168 million in 2011, and restructuring was essential to ensure a return to break-even or a small surplus.

He said the issue could be reviewed “in better times” but in the short term “we have to assume control of the runaway finances. That is the only reason for this decision.”

Mr Rabbitte said he had been advised by RTÉ that “between Belfast, Brussels and Dublin, in an era of digital technology, it is possible to ensure the quality of presentation from London does not suffer.”