RTÉ is seeking an licence fee increase of €45 in order to cover the costs of running its television and radio services in Ireland.
According to a spokeswoman for RTÉ, the situation is so critical that a refusal by the Government to allow the increase will force the broadcaster to discontinue its services.
Speaking to ireland.comthis afternoon, the spokeswoman said that following the release of figures in a submission RTÉ made to the Forum on Broadcasting it was clear that despite 450 staff losses and cuts in all services an increase in the licence fee was now essential. The staff cuts consisted of 25 per cent of the workforce.
"The increase that was awarded last year [of IR£45] was only an interim increase and was accepted as such by Sile de Valera [Minister for Arts, Culture, Gaelteacht and the Islands,]" she said.
"Even her own consultants [PriceWaterhouseCooper] had recommended a higher increase.
"In the meantime we have made cuts that are saving RTÉ €20 million this year. The fact of the matter is that if any more cuts are made it will, in the words of the Director General [Mr Bob Collins] ‘sound the death knell for RTÉ’".
The figures this morning show RTÉ recorded a deficit of €71 million in 2001.
All broadcasters suffered a reduction in advertising last year, and RTÉ's slice of the market fell by just over 10 per cent with a marked deterioration in the final three months of last year.
Spending on broadcasting was up by 7.5 per cent, boosted by a Special Programming Fund based on the proceeds of the sale of the Cablelink network.
The €71 million figure arose from a deficit on operating activities of €46 million and a once-off charge of €21.5 million for 150 redundancies which the station hopes to have implemented.
RTÉ is also working with An Post to try and find the solution to licence fee evasion which is , according to the station, higher in Ireland than in any other country in Europe.
The Director General, Mr Bob Collins, has said the organisation had reached the limit of the erosion of services and that any further cuts would be counter-productive.
Later this week, a separate report by independent assessors is expected to outline the different options RTÉ has in order to ensure its viability in the future.