What is needed to turn things around at RTÉ? Heads on plates, according to the staff engagement survey taken in the news department in May of this year.
Certain things look positive, to be sure, with two-thirds of respondents saying they were proud to work for the State broadcaster, and more than 70 per cent believing they know what they’re supposed to do and why they’re supposed to be doing it (“I know what I need to do to be successful in my role” and “I know how my work contributes to the goals of RTÉ” respectively).
Other indicators in the poll answered by 202 staff members are, however, decidedly negative. Are resources being deployed effectively towards RTÉ’s goals? Only one in 10 said yes. Are the right people rewarded? A mere 8 per cent said yes.
And most alarming was the response when they were asked whether they agreed with the statement: “When it is clear someone is not delivering in their role, we do something about it.” Only one in 20 respondents said yes.
The insights report, seen by The Irish Times, pledges forms of action that will be familiar to anyone who has ever been subjected to a staff satisfaction survey: better communication, better opportunities for career development and so on. A promise to “do something” about underperformers is not listed.
If doing bird is bad for hens ...
The formal visiting committee at Shelton Abbey prison in Co Wicklow must be familiar at this stage with the idea that long stretches in confinement are not very nice, but their 2023 trip, described in a report published this week, still made the point in a surprising way.
The visitors happened to visit the open prison, which runs a farm, at a time when bird flu was on the rampage, and the hens had to be locked up all day until the department allowed their release.
“This we find has a profound negative effect on the wellbeing of the hens and they start to fight with each other which causes premature deaths,” the report said.
A vision of Mountjoy in the verdant garden of Ireland? Irish prisons are now operating at 119 per cent of capacity across the country, the Irish Prison Officers Association warned this week, with its own trolley crisis – mattresses on the floor – in full swing and staff warning that such overcrowding will inexorably lead to conflict.
“Hopefully this issue will be resolved sooner rather than later,” said the visiting committee of the avian flu issue.
Baker’s run for the hunger strikers
The National Hunger Strike Commemoration is almost here again, and what better way to remember than with a bracing Sunday-morning jog?
Sinn Féin MLA Danny Baker this week announced what is described as a “commemorative run” intended to “remember those who died on hunger strike during the conflict”.
Republicans will gather at Colin Glen Forest Park in Belfast at 9am on Sunday, August 24th, to honour the legacy of the 10 who died in Long Kesh in 1981 and others who died in hunger strikes over the years.
They will presumably then start their Strava sessions with a blip of their watches and attempt to set a personal best, inspired by those who “set in motion a series of events that made political and social change unstoppable”, per Baker.
As well as honouring history, participants will receive a commemorative T-shirt, a race bib and a medal.
No fish please, we’re Irish
Last month, The Irish Times reported that the European Parliament was moving to ban vegetarian and vegan food producers from using traditional meat terms to describe their replacement products. Now, with fake bacon banished, a report for the EU’s fisheries committee has European sights set on faux fish. The report recommends banning the use of the commercial name of fish, such as tuna or cod, in veggie versions, as well as potentially imposing the name of the actual main ingredient, such as tofu or beans.
The imaginative products mentioned include something called Kraken, which is “inspired by octopus”, and has suckers like an octopus tentacle but is in fact made out of fungus protein; Tuno, which is plant-based tuna in a can; and AubergEel, which is eel made of aubergine, intended for sushi.
This could cause ructions in places such as Spain and Germany, where such products are available for sale and the concept of “a person who once ate a lot of fish but is now a vegetarian” is relatively common.
Less so in Ireland, where picky consumers shun the fruits of the ocean to the extent that we lie 22nd in the European list of fish and seafood eaters per capita despite being a large Atlantic island. Impressively, we’re below Luxembourg, Slovakia and Austria, all of which are landlocked.
Nothing to BBC here
Another censorship controversy this week with the BBC at the centre as it opted to play an edited version of Dunboyne singer CMAT’s latest single, Euro-Country. The cut material, essentially the first verse, was in Irish.
The broadcaster said it played a radio edit supplied by the record label. CMAT, for her part, said she had had no input into the cut. You can see why some people would be suspicious, weeks after live coverage of those laochra Gael, Kneecap, was dropped from the annual Glastonbury multichannel livestream extravaganza.
It’s not just Paddy in the crosshairs. BBC Radio also refused to play Freezing This Christmas by Sir Starmer and the Granny Harmers. This was an unlikely-sounding but very popular parody attempt at Christmas number one last year, which criticised cuts to winter fuel subsidies for pensioners. The broadcaster binned freelance BBC Newcastle presenter Chris Middleton when it emerged he was involved.
It has also been under fire for more consequential censorship. Earlier this year, the BBC shelved a documentary called Gaza: Doctors Under Attack over impartiality concerns, only to see Channel 4 broadcast it anyway.
Newsroom hacks – 111 of them, anonymously, in one open letter – are not happy with the higher-ups. We await their satisfaction survey.
