More than 300 people applied for a voluntary redundancy scheme at RTÉ last year but only 67 were made redundant with the broadcaster eventually spending €8.5 million on exit packages.
RTÉ is now in its second year of a three-year additional funding plan agreed by the Government.
According to its annual report, RTÉ recorded a surplus after tax of €22.5 million last year, which was up from €5.5 million in 2024. RTÉ said it had saved money by deferring some projects until 2026.
The report also shows the number of staff at RTÉ earning €230,000 or more increased upwards of threefold from three to 10.
RM Block
Furthermore, there was an increase in consultancy costs at the broadcaster, from €2.1 million in 2024 to €4.2 million last year. The broadcaster said it spent €4.1 million in restructuring costs.
Under reforms it committed to in the wake of the payments controversy, RTÉ promised to reduce its workforce by up to 400 people between 2025 and 2030.
The report shows more than 300 people applied for the first round of RTÉ’s redundancy package in 2025 but only 67 were made redundant through this process. The “exit costs” for the 67 voluntary redundancies came to €8.5 million, which works out at an average of €127,000.
Another 30 roles were “suppressed”. RTÉ expects to save €8.4 million annually through what it described as 97 “departures” from the organisation. In the report, RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst confirmed RTÉ will apply later this year to run a second voluntary exit scheme.
RTÉ had set aside €16.5 million at the end of last year to cover the cost of an investigation relating to so-called “bogus self-employment”.
This relates to workers who were wrongly classified as contractors, and so missed out on benefits that should have been offered to them as employees.
RTÉ paid €3.6 million to the Department of Social Protection and the Revenue Commissioners last year in relation to the controversy.
In the wake of the payments scandal, RTÉ vowed to cap salaries so nobody would earn more than its director general.
Any salaries and contracts for new presenters earning more than €100,000 also have to go through an additional approval process. The annual report shows senior management at RTÉ now dominate the list of its highest paid staff.
Nine out of 10 of its highest paid staff are now executives, with now-departed presenter Claire Byrne the only on-air talent in the top 10 highest earners.
Bakhurst was the highest-paid person at RTÉ last year, earning €339,538, which included €62,500 in pension payments and €25,000 in allowances.
The broadcaster’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation came to €30.2 million, up from €18.2 million in 2024.
But this included €9.6 million which had been earmarked for personnel and operating costs, which RTÉ was able to release back. RTÉ noted that this was “once-off in nature”.
Its total public funding was €224.8 million, which included €183.5 million in licence fee funding and €41.3 million in additional Government funding. There has been almost a 20 per cent decline in TV licence fee sales since 2022.
While there was a 3 per cent drop in TV licences sold, this was effectively offset by the State.
RTÉ said it received an increase in income from the Department of Social Protection relating to “free TV licences” – where the €160 annual television licence fee is waived for older people or those on social welfare at a cost to the State.
RTÉ’s commercial revenue was €158.6 million, up marginally from €158.1 million in 2024. Its report said the advertising market in Ireland “remained challenging”.
In 2024, the Revenue Commissioners carried out an audit of RTÉ which found it had continued to claim the Covid wage subsidy scheme beyond the point when it should have stopped.
The 2025 report said RTÉ “continues to engage fully with the Revenue Commissioners in relation to a revenue audit that commenced in 2024 and has made cumulative payments of €1.5 million to date”.
Bakhurst said the surplus was the result of “highly effective cost management and proper financial planning”.
