RTÉ spent more than €270,000 on wardrobe items last year, with records released under freedom of information revealing transactions totalling €33,000 from Brown Thomas and almost €13,000 at Louis Copeland.
More specialised items were also purchased, with €135.76 paid to An Garda Síochána, €261 at an outdoor and military clothing retailer, and €434 at Party HQ. There were bills of around €1,000 from Hugo Boss and payments totalling just over €5,000 for items from designer Karen Millen, reports Breaking News.
Other more budget-conscious purchases included €77 spent at Oxfam Cork and around €1,900 for products from online marketplace Temu.
Just over €1,200 was spent at the Costume Shop, around €565 at the Fabric Counter, and €190 at the Art Hobby Shop, reports Breaking News.
The largest single retailer total was with Arnott’s, where transactions came to €45,000.
A breakdown by programme shows that by far the biggest outlay came from the soap Fair City, where nearly €43,000 was spent, reports Breaking News.
Spending of €17,400 was recorded for the Late Late Toy Show and just over €10,000 for the Late Late Show itself. Also listed was €16,800 in costs from what was categorised as “marketing — creative production” and around €12,250 for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Other notable bills included €18,000 for RTÉ’s weather services and €13,000 for the Today Show, reports Breaking News.
RTÉ said the database of costs included a large volume of returns where items were found to be unsuitable for use after purchase. Overall spending totalled €440,000 but nearly €163,500 worth of items were returned, leaving a final tally of €277,000.
An RTÉ spokesperson said they constantly use and recycle items, with wardrobe stock repurposed wherever possible to avoid new purchases, reports Breaking News.
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