Media Minister Catherine Martin has said she is withholding €40 million in extra funding from national broadcaster RTÉ until it presents a strategic vision for reform, reports Breaking News.
The ruling comes after RTÉ was allocated temporary funding of just €16 million in the 2024 budget.
In June, RTÉ was plunged into crisis when the broadcaster revealed it had wrongly declared fees to then-highest earner Ryan Tubridy.
The scandal deepened as other financial and management issues surfaced.
Earlier this year, before the controversy arose, RTÉ submitted a request for additional interim measures of €34.5 million for next year.
Since then its revenues have fallen significantly again, with the broadcaster now forecasting a loss of €21 million by the end of the year due to reduced TV license fees in the wake of the dispute, reports Breaking News.
The €21 million revenue gap is higher than RTÉ’s already forecast €7 million shortfall in the 2023 budget.
Withholding the €40 million figure, Ms Martin said: “That’s the piece where we need the strategic vision. So, we’re not committing to doing that until we see the reform plan,” reports Breaking News.
Elsewhere, the broadcaster confirmed that its chief financial officer Richard Collins had resigned.
Bakhurst provided an update to staff on Wednesday.
“Richard Collins has tendered his resignation as CFO of RTÉ. Richard will work on a handover and RTÉ is in the process of identifying a replacement CFO,” RTÉ said in a statement, reports Breaking News.
Mr Collins was one of the RTÉ directors who appeared before an Oireachtas committee to answer questions about the controversy surrounding the broadcaster.
During an appearance at the committee, Mr Collins said he was not sure exactly how much he had been paid, before saying it was “around” €200,000.
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