RTÉ DG says he has confidence in Minister after ‘constructive’ meeting on funding

RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst has described a meeting with Minister for Media Patrick O’Donovan as “extremely constructive” after a row broke out over funding for the State broadcaster.The meeting came after RTÉ was allocated €240 million in the budget, €20 million less than was expected under the terms of a deal with the last government.Bakhurst and RTÉ board chairman Terence O’Rourke met O’Donovan for just over an hour on Thursday afternoon.“We’ve agreed that we’re going to carry on working with his [O’Donovan’s] officials to try and find a resolution to this,” Bakhurst said afterwards.READ MOREHe described the meeting as “very positive” and said RTÉ welcomed this, but insisted he would not be answering questions as the situation is “delicate enough”, adding: “We want this process to be properly carried out”.On whether RTÉ will get its money, Bakhurst said he did not know. Asked if he has confidence in the Minister, Bakhurst said: “Absolutely, yes.”In a statement, the Department of Media described the meeting as “positive”.“The Minister listened to the concerns of the RTÉ chair and director general in relation to Government funding and the support for the implementation of the strategy,” it said.“The chair and director general provided assurances on the delivery of reforms and their timing. The department and RTÉ will continue to engage constructively on all the issues discussed over the next few weeks.”Meanwhile, TG4 said it had requested its own meeting with the Minister and is awaiting a response.“Reliance on annual budget decisions limits TG4’s long-term planning and investment and creates uncertainty for the Irish independent production sector, much of which is made up of SMEs,” the Irish-language broadcaster said in a statement.“The budget outcome is particularly disappointing given TG4’s very strong performance in 2025,” it went on, highlighting audience growth and increasing audience share. Earlier, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said it will ask RTÉ and the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport to appear before it in the coming weeks regarding RTÉ funding and staffing numbers.The move came after it emerged that RTÉ is to be funded to the tune of €240 million next year, €20 million less than it had been expecting under a multiyear bailout deal between the last government and the broadcaster.On Wednesday, O’Donovan denied the move was a “cut” to RTÉ’s funding, despite the previous Government promising to increase the amount to €260 million next year.He said the deal made with RTÉ amounted to “almost three-quarters of a billion euros ... an enormous amount of money from the taxpayers”.O’Donovan also said he was not happy with the pace of change at the broadcaster and its transition to being a “more agile, smaller” organisation.Bakhurst has rejected O’Donovan’s assertion that the pace of reform at Montrose has been inadequate.The PAC chairman, John Brady of Sinn Féin, said on Thursday that there had been a comprehensive discussion among members at a private session and it had been agreed to schedule an engagement with the parties after the October break.He said there had been “considerable concerns” expressed by members of the committee.James Geoghegan of Fine Gael said the State had provided RTÉ with €50 million as part of the broadcaster’s reform strategy to fund a voluntary exit programme of 400 people. He said RTÉ had maintained that 100 people had left the organisation.He said actually 67 people had departed under the exit scheme and the balance to the 100 figure was made up of posts that had been suppressed – following the retirement or resignation of staff members.“We need to hear from the secretary general of the department about what control mechanisms are being put in place so we don’t arrive at the situation we are currently in where one side is saying the strategy is not being delivered and the other side is saying the strategy is being delivered and we don’t know where the truth lies,” he said.On Thursday morning, The Irish Times reported that O’Donovan warned Coalition leaders in a letter last Friday that the Government would “renege” on its funding deal with RTÉ if more cash wasn’t found for his department.It is understood that Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers, Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris and Taoiseach Micheál Martin believed that extra funding made available to the Department of Communications during tense negotiations over the weekend would solve any difficulties with the RTÉ allocation, but were only made aware of this issue on the day the budget was announced.[ TG4 and Screen Ireland budget funding amounts to ‘cut’ in real terms, industry warnsOpens in new window ]Separately, it was confirmed that TG4’s funding would remain static next year. The Irish-language broadcaster had requested an additional €11 million in funding in Budget 2027, bringing its total allocation to €76.4 million. TG4 ard-stiúrthóir Deirdre Ní Choistín said the broadcaster would now have to “assess the impact” on its plans and strategic priorities for next year.Ireland’s media watchdog, Coimisiún na Meán, has expressed disappointment that Budget 2027 has “not allowed for the delivery of the level of funding to RTÉ that was previously outlined in the Government’s plans”.[ Most skirmishes before and after the budget featured Patrick O’DonovanOpens in new window ]The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) meanwhile said it is “deeply concerned” by the Government’s decision to cut RTÉ’s funding.The EBU is an alliance of public service media organisations of which RTÉ and TG4 are members. In a statement it said RTÉ “entered into agreements with independent producers and other partners, invested in Irish drama, live sport and digital services, and continued to deliver trusted, independent news and analysis”.“Withdrawing €20 million in the final year, with those commitments already in place, breaks the agreement and leaves RTÉ to fund commitments it made in good faith.”In Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil, Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke said the two sides would “try to work this out”.But Social Democrats media spokeswoman Sinéad Gibney criticised O’Donovan, questioning the sequence of events that led to the cut. “He lashes out, be it the Arts Council, be it An Post and now RTÉ,” she said. “So what is the truth? Because if RTÉ wasn’t fulfilling its commitment, why wasn’t it raised until three hours before the budget, and why wasn’t the reason given to RTÉ or to anybody indeed until the press conference a day later?”The co-chair of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) group in RTÉ, Trevor Keegan, told Morning Ireland he was shocked to hear of the €20 million reduction in funding for the State broadcaster next year.[ RTÉ ‘caught off-guard’ by €20m cut in funding in Budget 2027Opens in new window ]The announcement had come as a “bolt from the blue” and would have an impact on his members and colleagues and fellow unions across the organisation, he said.Keegan said the NUJ did not “necessarily support” the voluntary exit package and other elements of the five-year strategy. “What we do support is correct funding for this organisation. If the Minister really was brave, instead of just simply going for the easy option of docking money from the organisation, he and his colleagues would actually grasp the nettle that is the funding for this organisation that was mooted in the Future Media Commission Report 2022, a joint committee from the Oireachtas in 2024 saying that it should be exchequer funding that funds this organisation properly. None of them are willing to do that. “Instead, it’s the easy option: cut more money from RTÉ and expect us to do its remit for less.”Budget 2027 snapshotBudget main points Conor Pope’s 90-second budget summaryWhen will Budget 2027 measures kick in? Childcare package - what does it mean for parents? How much will families be better off? Fiona Reddan finds out Find out for yourself with our Budget 2027 calculatorNew personal investment accounts - Dominic Coyle on how they will work We aren’t given to soundbites, but…. 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