Broke RTE will get a €50million taxpayer lifeline over the next five years – as its boss defended the pay of its top earners.
Dee Forbes said Montrose’s presenters have a difficult job that not everyone can do.
She was addressing a Dail committee hours after Communications Minister Richard Bruton announced the State will plough €50million into the station – just €10million less than the €60million the broadcaster says it has to cut between now and 2022.
RTE wants to slash its workforce by 200 as one of a series of measures to tackle its financial crisis.
Salaries for the 10 highest paid presenters, who mainly work as contractors rather than staff, added up to €3million in 2016 – by contrast Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is paid €200,000 per year.
RTE has pledged to reduce the fees paid to their top contracted on-air presenters by 15%, which it said is in addition to cuts of over 30% agreed in previous years.
Ms Forbes told the Oireachtas communications committee on Tuesday: “The role of our presenters is multi-faceted.
“They present several shows depending on the individual but I think it’s important to say that they’re very important to RTE and very important to the messages that they have to deliver on a regular basis.
“I understand why this can be an issue and a topic for conversation among the public, but the role of presenting a show and being a broadcaster can be a difficult one and it’s not something that anybody can do despite sometimes what the public think.”
Ms Forbes said they have negotiated a pay cut with one of its contractors by 15% and the rest of the pay negotiations are ongoing.
Earlier Mr Richard Bruton denied caving in to demands from RTE by allocating an extra €10million-a-year in State funding for five years.
