A public protest meeting in support of Raidió na Gaeltachta staff who are campaigning against cuts in the station’s budget will take place this evening in Dublin.
Politicians of every hue have pledged support for the staff members of the Irish language radio station in their campaign against the cuts.
The cuts, proposed by the RTÉ Authority amount to £370,000 and are equivalent to ten per cent of the station’s annual budget. This compares with a five per cent cut imposed on RTÉ Radio 1 by the Authority. Staff at the company fear that Raidió na Gaeltachta is suffering as a result of RTÉ’s dire financial situation.
Raidió na Gaeltachta’s management has announced its intention to drop several programs from the schedule and has hinted at the possibility of job-cuts which would affect those working on a freelance basis.
Tonight’s meeting follows a recent hearing by the Joint Committee on Heritage and the Irish Language where parties stated their support for the station’s staff and called on the RTÉ Authority to justify the proposed cuts.
The proposed cuts come in the wake of the minister’s refusal to grant an emergency increase in the television licence fee to RTÉ following its proposal to cut 160 staff and £24 million from the station's 2004 budget.
Tonight’s meeting, which has been organised by Conradh na Gaeilge, takes place in Buswell’s Hotel at 8 p.m. Speakers include Michael D. Higgins (Labour) Denis McGinley (Fine Gael) and Caoimhín Ó Caoláin (Sinn Féin). Eoin Ó Murchú, Raidio na Gaeltachta’s political correspondent will represent the station’s staff.