€4m exit deals: ‘The staff at one RTE live on scraps, the rest are lavished with payments’
Cash-strapped national broadcaster offered lucrative golden handshakes
RTE paid out almost €4million in termination benefits to senior executives over the course of a decade, it has emerged.
The figure has been revealed as chair of the broadcaster’s board, Siun Ni Raghallaigh, resigned last week from her role in a row with Media Minister Catherine Martin over exit payments.
Ms Ni Raghallaigh stepped down after Ms Martin claimed live on TV she had twice misled her over the board’s role in approving a lucrative exit payment for RTE’S former chief financial officer, Richard Collins.
However, new figures released yesterday show how cash-strapped RTE has made several big exit payments to outgoing executives for more than a decade.
The Sunday Times reported the largest outlay in one year was in 2012 when the station paid out €900,000 to key management personnel.
The national broadcaster has declined to say who or how many people received the payments, which brought the total “goodbye money” paid out to €3.7m.
However, the true amount paid in termination benefits could be much higher due to RTE’S accounting practices.
Catherine Murphy, deputy chairwoman of the public accounts committee, said the payments showed how the upper echelons operated at RTE. She said: “It’s reflective of a corporate culture. It looks to me as if there were two RTES. One where the staff struggle; and a second where people are treated very differently.
“The staff at one RTE live on scraps. The others are lavished with payments.”
Breda O’keeffe, the station’s former chief financial officer, received €450,000 when she left in 2020. But the payment was recorded as €400,000 in RTE’S annual report for the same year.
RTE confirmed this amount had been “rounded down” in its annual report in line with its accounting practices.
A spokesman said: “The consistent practice in the treatment of RTE’S annual accounts is to treat figures to one decimal point (ie to the nearest €100,000).
“In this instance the precise figure was rounded down to €400,000 rather than up to €500,000.”
RTE last week would not specify whether any other termination benefits in its public filings for the relevant years between 2012 and 2022 had been rounded down to the nearest €100,000.
A spokesman said: “Figures are rounded up and rounded down to ensure the overall figures are not overstated or understated. RTE has no further comment.”
Brian Stanley, chairman of the public accounts committee, said the thought that RTE could give figures “that are €50,000 wide of the mark for one package is just bonkers, it’s outrageous”.
He added: “That’s not the type of stuff that you would get away with anywhere.”
The revelations come as the crisis engulfing the broadcaster worsens following the resignation of Ms Ni Raghallaigh.
Ms Martin is facing calls to step down after being accused of effectively sacking Ms Ni Raghallaigh on TV on Thursday night, by refusing to express confidence in her.
The minister is due before the Oireachtas media committee tomorrow but sources said she is unlikely to come under serious pressure to resign.
That’s not the type of stuff that you would get away with...
BRIAN STANLEY ON RTE ACCOUNTING PRACTICES