RTÉ appears before Oireachtas Committee after Government funding decision

Joanna Byrne (0:00)

The Hard Shoulder, with Ciara Kelly and Shane Colman, on Newstalk, with Ciara.

Shane Colman (0:09)

Now RTÉ has appeared before the Oireachtas Committee on Media this afternoon, following the government's decision to withhold 20 million of funding from the broadcaster in the budget, a decision that has since involved a number of meetings between the two sides. Joining us now is committee member, Joanna Byrne, Sinn Féin TD and the Party Spokesperson on Media, Communications and Sport. Joanna, just talk us through what were the main things that were put to the RTÉ theme even in the Oireachtas Committee today.

Joanna Byrne (0:44)

Good afternoon and good afternoon to your listeners. It was a very mixed bag committee here in this afternoon, probably with two main areas of focus, one being Ger Gilroy and his appointment to the podcast with RTÉ and the whole recruitment process of how he...

Shane Colman (1:04)

This is the sports podcast called Howler.

Joanna Byrne (1:07)

Howler, yes, that one. So that took up a significant bit of discussion, probably more so from the members who had a background in journalism and media themselves. And then the main other area of focus, I suppose, was the 20 million euro cut from the government to RTÉ in this year's budget. So it was a very mixed bag, very intense. And as is the norm in these things, very frustrating because it took a couple of hours to unravel a lot of detail that could have been outlaid in the opening minutes of it if there was full transparency from everybody in the room.

Shane Colman (1:41)

So what was the, when you say you were frustrated, specifically what frustrated you?

Joanna Byrne (1:47)

Well, I suppose the area I focused on was in relation to the 20 million euro cut from the government in this year's budget to RTÉ. And I started, I suppose, with questioning the department in this, in the absence of any minister in attendance. And from my perspective, I found it very clear from the department's opening statements where there was competing demands or competing needs repeated throughout the opening statement as justification for the minister choosing not to fulfil the previously agreed level of funding to RTÉ. So despite me raising this and other members raising this and it all over recent weeks, the minister has still not detailed what the exact reasons were. Were there missed key performance indicators or was there criteria that RTÉ had missed that led to his decision to cut RTÉ's previously agreed funding for 2027? And I asked the secretary general to outline them reasons.

There was no clarity provided and as it was teased out throughout the committee, it seems apparent now to everybody that was in the room today leaving there this afternoon that the cutting of the funding for RTÉ was used as a smoke screen really for Patrick O'Donovan as minister to be able to fund projects that he wanted to fund knowing that government would have to step in and stand up to a government commitment to fund RTÉ and to perhaps give the 20 million in the revised estimates that will come at the end of the year.

Shane Colman (3:17)

A smoke screen by the minister himself?

Joanna Byrne (3:19)

I believe so, yeah. It was confirmed to us today that initially there was a feeling of anger and shock at the hands of RTÉ and we seen that in Kevin Backhurst's statements on the day of the budget where he was outraged by this announcement of the cut in funding and what we tried to tease out was what happened in that meeting with RTÉ and the department on the Thursday that really diminished that anger on RTÉ's behalf. It very much became a 360 degree turnaround and nothing to see here. This is what we've got. We're going to work through the metrics and improve and try and meet whatever was said out. Do you think it was a solo run by the minister?

Yeah, well, I hate to use such strong words, but I'd say it was a tactic knowing that if that was the one thing that he caught, that government would have to... There is a government commitment to fund RTÉ. We're all well aware of that. That is the one thing they have to step in and make up that shortfall. The secretary general spoke to us today about how it was a decision the government or the minister himself didn't want to make, and that there was three areas that the minister felt he couldn't resile himself from. One was funding the Ryder Cup, one was funding Euro 2028, and the other one was RTÉ. And I asked straight out, was there any funding cuts to the projected or anticipated funding for the Ryder Cup? I was told no. I asked, was there any projected or anticipated cuts for Euro 2028? I was told no. I asked the question, why was RTÉ given a disproportionate funding, an extravagant funding cut in 20 million? If that was the case, why was it not balanced more proportionately across all projects?