As public trust in the broadcaster declines, RTE is facing a big licence fee switch-off, with losses more than doubling in just one month, reports The Mirror.
Losses of €1.6 million were reported in February, the same month that reports of lavish management payoffs surfaced, including the €450,000 payout to former CFO Breda O’Keeffe upon her dismissal.
The public was also made aware of the contentious departure of board chair Siun Ni Raghallaigh and the exit agreements reached with previous senior executives Rory Coveney and Richard Collins.
The decline in licencing payments is a definite indication of the public’s continued disapproval with RTE and its handling of the June scandals, reports The Mirror.
According to An Post’s most recent monthly data, 75,183 TV licences were acquired in January and 61,601 licences were obtained in February.
An Post recorded total TV licence sales of 824,278 in 2023 as opposed to 947,924 in 2022, a 13% decrease or a loss of about €19 million in income, reports The Mirror.
The public was particularly incensed by former director general Dee Forbes’s refusal to respond to inquiries on the issues that surfaced before Oireachtas committees in the previous summer.
The Oireachtas Media Committee was notified by the former RTE director general’s attorneys that she is “unfit to be involved in any process” and that she is still “under active medical care,” reports The Mirror.
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