Tag: bankrupt

Kevin Bakhurst, the head of RTÉ, has said that the Irish broadcaster is dealing with financial difficulties, but it is not going bankrupt.

Mr Bakhurst said that the broadcaster would stop hiring new employees right away.

In an email sent to all staff on Wednesday morning, Mr. Bakhurst mentioned that all spending that is not necessary will also be halted.

This is being done to regain trust in the public service broadcaster after the revealing of controversial payments made to one of its popular presenters, Ryan Tubridy, in June.

Mr Bakhurst said he is sad about the change because it will impact RTÉ’s coverage and the money they invest in the future.

“He said that because the licence fee has significantly decreased and there is a lack of certainty in obtaining temporary funding, it is the only responsible action we can take. ”

RTÉ receives money from both advertisements and a fee paid by people who have a TV licence.

Mr Bakhurst spoke to an Irish parliamentary committee on Wednesday and said that if they don’t come up with a new way to fund public service media in Ireland for the long term, it could harm the future of RTÉ.

Mr Bakhurst has been running the organization since July, replacing former director general Dee Forbes.

She quit because of a scandal involving a questionable payment right before Mr. Bakhurst was going to start.
Mr Bakhurst and the RTÉ board are being asked more questions by politicians about the organization’s money situation.

Before the scandal happened, the broadcaster had asked the Irish government for €34. 5m (£297m) in extra money.

It is expecting to lose €21m (£18m) in revenue by the end of 2023 because fewer people are paying for TV licences.

The head of the board, Siún Ní Raghallaigh, told lawmakers in the Irish parliament that the broadcaster is facing a lot of pressure from different areas.

She said the organization will soon do a strategic review, and based on that, they will create a plan to restructure the organization with estimated costs.

Mr Bakhurst spoke at the committee and said that making significant and fundamental changes within the organization is a very important time for public service media.

“He said we can either work together to change and improve RTÉ for the next 100 years or we can let it fail and come to an end. ”

“The second thing is something that I, and I think you, cannot agree with. ”

When someone asked if they could sell the broadcaster’s building in Donnybrook, Dublin to make up for money they lost, Mr Bakhurst said they were considering all possibilities.

He said they are currently determining the value of the site.

The boss said he felt disgusted by the 10% increase in pay that RTÉ executives received in 2022.

He said he didn’t know why the increase in salary wasn’t told to the Irish government at that time, and promised that it wouldn’t happen again.

Mr Bakhurst also mentioned that he was surprised to learn that RTÉ had spent money on a membership for Soho House, which is a private club in London.

An Irish Member of Parliament (MP) told leaders of the Irish public broadcasting company, RTÉ, that he would prefer to go to his nearby bar and spend money on buying drinks for everyone there instead of paying his TV licence fee.

“At least I would know where my money was spent. I would receive more cultural material and have more honest conversations with people,” stated Brendan Griffin, a politician from the Fine Gael party.

However, Griffin later said that he would be continuing to pay his licence fee and he wants everyone else to do the same.