Vivienne Clarke
The Irish secretary of the National Union of Journalists, Seamus Dooley has said that the message from the trade union to the Oireachtas Media Committee on Wednesday will be that the time for talking about RTÉ was over.
“We want action. We’ve had enough talk now. We’re still waiting for the government to act on the license fee. We really need that.”
Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, Mr Dooley pointed out that the government had appointed expert groups, from which reports were still awaited.
“We’re still waiting for those. Funding is dependent on that. Meanwhile, this place (RTÉ) is operating in a state of suspended animation. Staff are angry and frustrated. And really, at this stage, we need to move on as quickly as we can.”
Mr Dooley called for the completed HR report to be published immediately rather than awaiting the completion of the corporate governance report.
“The minister has decided that both reports should be published together. I would like to see the HR report published separately and as soon as possible, because that means we can start some of the work around reform in that area. And that is badly needed. And there are a number of areas of work that need to be done that could be done.”
A Government decision on a funding model for RTÉ needed to be decided. “I believe that at this stage, if RTÉ is to survive, the long overdue decision needs to be taken. And I really worry if it doesn’t come soon, that people will lose their bottle in the run up to the election.
Mr Dooley said that the NUJ did not have a specific preference for a funding model for RTÉ, but believed that it should be some form of direct State funding. The TV licence model was broken.
