Robinson ex-adviser gets senior RTE post

Ms Bride Rosney, the former special adviser to President Mary Robinson, has been appointed RTE's new director of communications.

Ms Rosney (52), who also worked with Mrs Robinson in her capacity as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, will succeed Mr Kevin Healy, who retires shortly as director of public affairs.

A former teacher and union activist, she is coming to RTE after a two-year stint in public relations.

From Cahirciveen, Co Kerry, Ms Rosney grew up in Dublin and studied science in UCD. She first came to prominence, and met Mrs Robinson, in the late 1970s during the campaign against Dublin Corporation's plans to build offices on Wood Quay in Dublin.

In 1982-83 she served on the executive of the Teachers' Union of Ireland. Ms Rosney was principal of Rosmini Community School in Dublin when the Labour Party approached Mrs Robinson to run for the Presidency in 1990. She joined the campaign as the candidate's representative on election committees and moved to work for her in Aras an Uachtarain when Mrs Robinson was elected.

After eight years working for Mrs Robinson in Dublin and the UN in Geneva, she returned to Dublin and was appointed an executive director with Bill O'Herlihy Communications. She lives in Malahide, Co Dublin.

Ms Rosney's appointment comes at a time of considerable difficulty for RTE. The Minister for Arts, Ms de Valera, recently rejected the station's application for a £50 increase in the television licence fee. After a delay of eight months, Ms de Valera authorised an increase of £14.50.

The Minister and RTE subsequently engaged in a bout of ill-tempered dispute over the costings provided by RTE and the extent to which it has implemented a plan to cut costs and shed jobs.