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Emma O'Kelly RTE NUJ representative at a NUJ rally in July. Alamy Stock Photo

Emma O'Kelly on RTÉ's new strategy: 'If that's modernising well, it's a modernising I don't agree with'

Staff are concerned that RTÉ’s new plan will promote a ‘gig economy’ and ultimately harm the creative sector.

RTÉ’S NATIONAL UNION of Journalists representative Emma O’Kelly has criticised the national broadcaster’s new strategic vision, saying that workers are ‘paying the price for poor corporate governance and lack of political direction’.

While O’Kelly acknowledged there was “some good stuff” in the document, she told The Journal that it will promote a ‘gig economy’ and ultimately harm the creative sector.

The plan, called “A new direction for RTÉ”, outlines how RTÉ will become “a more streamlined, modern and simpler organisation, with fewer employees, reduced overheads and updated technology”.

Responding to the plan, O’Kelly took issue with the use of “euphemisms” used, adding: “We really feel that there needs to be change and there’s some good stuff in the document but there’s a lot of bad stuff as well.

“It’s what kind of change do you want? And there’s a lot of there are a lot of euphemisms, being used, like ‘modernise’, you know, ‘Make [RTÉ] a smaller organization’ and things like that.

“Like, I don’t know why? Where does this come from?

“What they’re talking about in that regard is losing four hundreds jobs that are stable, provide good employment to young people [...] and privatising a lot of what we do currently with with properly paid jobs with proper terms and conditions,” she added.

If that’s modernising well, it’s a modernizing that I don’t agree with.”

Bakhurst assured staff that the 400 job losses will be fairly dispersed across different areas of the organisation, and will not fall unfairly on production staff, it is understood.

He also reassured staff that that there is no plan to close entire departments in RTÉ, and said the plan is to let people take redundancy gradually.

O’Kelly added: “If you look at the creative sector in generally – across arts, entertainment, the Irish language – what it means is there will be 400 fewer jobs. Real jobs with pensions with pay, with security.

“There will be 400 fewer jobs and the work that those people are doing will be done instead in the gig economy by people who don’t have any of that security.”

Séamus Dooley, the National Union of Journalists’ Irish secretary said the organisation are “gravely concerned” at the scale of the proposed redundancies but welcomed Bakhurst’s assurance that there will be no compulsory redundancies

Speaking to reporters this evening on RTÉ’s Donnybrook campus, Bakhurst said that he has no problem with outsourcing to the independent sector and said that the job cuts will be transparent, voluntary and fair.

“Change does bring uncertainty and effects on life and I’m trying to give staff the reassurance and the engagement they need to minimise that uncertainty and make sure they can engage with the process.”

IMG_5492 RTÉ's director general Kevin Backhurst addressing reporters on the broadcaster's Donnybrook campus in Dublin this evening. MAIREAD MAGUIRE / THE JOURNAL MAIREAD MAGUIRE / THE JOURNAL / THE JOURNAL

The organisation Screen Producers Ireland welcomed RTÉ’s plans to spend more in the independent sector, as its CEO Susan Kirby, said that there now needs to be a reform of the license fee collection system to ensure RTÉ can access the level of public funding it needs to carry out this new strategy.

It’s understood that Bakhurst told staff at the meeting this afternoon: “No one will earn more than the director general. That is a commitment we are going to make.”

The director general makes €250,000 per annum. RTÉ staff who already make in excess of this will not have their salary cut overnight. The rule will only apply to any new contracts.

O’Kelly said the reduction is welcomed by most staff, but highlighted that the NUJ had called for salaries to be capped to the top civil servant salary in 2019.

“So, that might be a little bit higher than that  – but in terms of a general stance; Yes, we would welcome that,” O’Kelly said.

‘All the good stuff needs investment’

The plan, published this afternoon, states that the workforce at the broadcaster will be cut by 20% – or 400 people – over the next five years.

An “initial and limited” voluntary exit programme will be run to cut 40 positions. This will be funded by the sale of land on the Donnybrook campus in 2017.

Staff reductions will take place through a combination of normal attrition and retirements and a voluntary exit scheme, which will aim to particularly reduce the number of staff paid over €100,000.

However, targeted recruitment will continue at the broadcaster “to ensure we have the additional skills required for a digitally transformed RTÉ”.

It’s understood staff were told that selling Donnybrook is not being considered, and that instead RTÉ management plans to remain at the site, but to “shrink back” its current facilities, and invest in them to modernise them.

rte-director-general-kevin-bakhurst-left-meeting-emma-okelly-holding-megaphone-rte-nuj-representative-as-union-members-stage-a-rally-over-funding-of-public-service-broadcasting-at-rtes-donnybr RTE director general Kevin Bakhurst (left) meeting Emma O'Kelly, RTE NUJ representative in July. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

O’Kelly said: “All the good stuff in this document, needs investment. And are we going to get that?

“We’ve already learned that none of this new stuff is going to happen for a year because 2024 is only going to be about cuts, it’s going to be about saving 10 million,” she added.

O’Kelly welcomed the plan’s intentions to expand the broadcaster’s campus in Cork, allowing more employees to work from counties such as Limerick and Galway, and investing in digital infrastructure.

However, similar to the salary caps, O’Kelly says these investments are “madly overdue”.

‘A welcome reprieve’

Séamus Dooley, NUJ Irish secretary, said the announcement by government today to fund RTÉ for next year, through a €56 million bailout, was “a welcome reprieve”.

Dooley added that the government needs to expedite proposals for long term funding of public service broadcasting in Ireland. 

“Against the backdrop of an investigation into the last Voluntary Redundancy Programme, staff will be very sceptical about a new programme,” Dooley said.

“Staff want to see evidence of a genuine, sustainable long term plan based on clearly defined objectives.

It is vital the government provides clarity on long term funding for public service broadcasting.”

“To date there has not been a sense of urgency and RTÉ workers are now being asked to pay the price for poor corporate governance and lack of political direction,” he added.

O’Kelly said there was a need for the funding in order to maintain Irish public service broadcasting and too welcomed the government’s bailout announcement.

O’Kelly added the outcomes of today’s strategy announcement were what the group expected.

“We knew this would be about cutting jobs in RTÉ and privatising,” she said.

“People have been saying to me: ‘Oh, things have gone very quiet in RTÉ,’ and whenever anybody said that to me, I felt: ‘Yeah, but it’s the silence. It’s like the silence in Jaws,’.”

“It’s quiet, but you know, the shark is under the boat. Today, we saw the shark we know what size it is. So I suppose that’s something.”

Includes reporting by Christina Finn

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    Mute ecrowley ecrowley
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    Jul 7th 2025, 7:36 AM

    I don’t know why he’s even mentioning targets, when there isn’t the slightest chance of hitting them. I don’t see what heavy lifting the government is doing either.

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    Mute peter willekens
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    Jul 7th 2025, 7:22 AM

    We couldn’t have both schemes simultaneously?

    41
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    Mute john murray
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    Jul 7th 2025, 7:30 AM

    @peter willekens: developers said no.

    38
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    Mute Thesaltyurchin
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    Jul 7th 2025, 4:41 PM

    @john murray: Cause they make no money from Second hand properties and Ireland does what it’s told in the face of Business.

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    Mute Rafa C
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    Jul 7th 2025, 7:49 AM

    Honestly, it’s hard to argue with the basic logic here. If you start pumping shared equity cash into second-hand homes, you’re basically throwing petrol on an already raging fire. Sellers will see the scheme coming a mile off and tack on another 30k on for good measure.

    But at the same time, all this talk of “supply, supply, supply” gets tired when the new build targets keep falling short year after year. The private sector is being begged to build, yet prices remain out of reach for most first-time buyers.

    Expanding the First Home Scheme without serious controls would almost certainly push prices higher, so the caution makes sense. But let’s not pretend new builds alone will solve the crisis if delivery keeps lagging behind demand by tens of thousands of homes.

    In the end, it feels like more sticking plasters on a gaping wound. Grand plans, but little that will make housing genuinely affordable any time soon.

    The only real way to bring prices down is to build more and do it faster. Everything else is just tinkering around the edges. If supply doesn’t surge, no scheme, grant or tax tweak will ever make homes genuinely affordable. Simple as that.

    Ask ChatGPT

    28
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    Mute Buster Lawless
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    Jul 7th 2025, 8:06 AM

    @Rafa C: yep, that’s it in a nutshell Rafa, ‘ tinkering around the edges’ is all we’re doing ….& This long awaited super duper ” Housing Plan 2025-2030″ will be just same ole’ same ole’……. without increased supply it’s all smoke& mirrors

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    Mute Paul O'Mahoney
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    Jul 7th 2025, 8:12 AM

    @Rafa C:Well said, theres on thing that is annoying me about this whole issue and that’s the concept of ” proof of funds” not just to finalise the purchase contract but to simply bid on a property. I helped someone recently, and it was simply the weirdest process, she decided to get AIP and then drawdown if needed, her equity was enough along with savings etc.
    She told me Auctioneers wanted ” proof of funds” apparently equity isn’t sufficient anymore. Over 2 years she looked at properties only not to bid as she didn’t want to sell first and try and rent, a reasonable strategy imo. Not all Auctioneers did this but a majority did. This is slowing movement within the market and probably stopping more people buying houses, her house is a simple 3 bed bungalow a good starter house…..

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    Mute Paul O'Mahoney
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    Jul 7th 2025, 8:19 AM

    @Paul O’Mahoney: Additionally the information that the bank wanted was at a level I thought was almost a breach of some rights, they literally went through her financial live over the past few years. This upset her as her personal life wasn’t easy, but she kept going and working , she was ready to give up. She got an AIP is now bidding but surely selling your property after having a bid accepted is where we need to get back too. Buying a house is difficult enough but the new system isn’t helping buyers nor sellers, the chain seems to broken in every aspect of housing right now

    9
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    Mute Thesaltyurchin
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    Jul 7th 2025, 9:01 AM

    @Paul O’Mahoney: Imagine building your own house, through Covid AND having to deal with the army of monkeys in a Kilkenny call centre for draw downs?.. Banking in Ireland is still in the last century imo

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    Mute Deano74
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    Jul 7th 2025, 10:13 AM

    @Paul O’Mahoney: I hear yea,we had a similar situation,and something else 6 months after our approval we got an email from bank to say the application was reaccsessrd and they where knocking 8 Grand off the loan,the hassle and months delay it caused,and then finally all ready to go last November,two days before the sale, solicitor rings to say it’s off,our buyers mortgage approval had expired and would have to reapply,it’s a nightmare.

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    Mute Paul O'Mahoney
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    Jul 7th 2025, 4:34 PM

    @Deano74: Jesus you really had a mare of a time buying that house. At least ye are happy there.

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    Mute Barry Deegan
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    Jul 8th 2025, 9:53 AM

    @Rafa C: the aul supply and demand doesn’t work for housing. It’s one of the few items that people but loads of. Need to stop people purchasing a second house if they already have one. There’s no way someone should be allowed to purchase a family home as an investment when they may have outbid a family trying to get a home.

    Nothing will change until the view that housing is for homes not for profit.

    Let the rental companies build their rental properties and see how they get on. Irelands population density isn’t at a point where people can’t purchase a home.

    1
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    Mute BL Music
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    Jul 7th 2025, 1:39 PM

    Of course he is putting the breaks on .
    If the houses are second hand FFs develops cronies do not make any money

    12
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    Mute Alan d
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    Jul 8th 2025, 10:58 AM

    @BL Music: Thank god it not on second hand homes , the only outcome of that suggestion is higher house prices

    1
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    Mute George Bowling
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    Jul 7th 2025, 10:07 AM

    I bought a second hand house a few years ago because I had a good bit of cash on hand so I didn’t need any of the grants to make up a deposit. I could still have gotten some grants I’m sure and gone for a new build, but the price differential was so great due to those grants artificially inflating the prices on new builds that I never even bothered viewing a single one. The one annoying thing with buying second hand here is the bidding wars, asking prices are meaningless, everything boils down to what someone is willing to pay. Give everyone bidding an extra 50k in grants and it will all just be eaten up in those bidding wars. Demand is best measured in currency, so if you increase available cash with grants you’re increasing demand with no increase in supply.

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    Mute Fool Hunter
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    Jul 7th 2025, 1:38 PM

    Ires reit told him no

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    Mute Tim Brennan
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    Jul 7th 2025, 5:26 PM

    Martin is turning out to be the most useless of them all.

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    Mute Tim Walsh
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    Jul 7th 2025, 3:06 PM

    Existing homeowners don’t drop off envelopes at the constituency office

    3
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    Mute Deano74
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    Jul 7th 2025, 11:53 AM

    Can anyone tell me if you can still qualify for the vacant home grant after you have moved in(December last year).

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    Mute Paul O'Mahoney
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    Jul 7th 2025, 4:32 PM

    @Deano74: I dunno but there are some very strange regulations. Askaboutmoney.com might be a good place to ask, plenty of people there going through the process. Just search first as they are very strongly moderated

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