A row between RTÉ and Minister for Media Patrick O’Donovan over a €20 million cut in funding for the State broadcaster is casting a long shadow over Budget 2027. But what exactly is going on? And does O’Donovan’s explanation for the cut add up?
What deal was in place?
Back in the dim mists of time – 2024 to be precise – the then government sought to draw a line under the scandal unleashed at Montrose triggered by secret payments to its former star presenter Ryan Tubridy. Damage to public confidence in the broadcaster led to a fall in licence fee payments, further damaging RTÉ’s finances.
After fractious negotiations on how Montrose would be funded in future, the government agreed to retain the TV licence system but to guarantee a certain level of funding to RTÉ every year, coming to €725 million. At the time, taoiseach Leo Varadkar and minister for public expenditure Paschal Donohoe said the funding was conditional on delivery of reforms at the broadcaster.
How did this get bound up in budget talks?
While the money for RTÉ was supposedly guaranteed, it still has to come from somewhere – namely the pot of cash allocated to the Department of Media as part of the annual budgetary process.
RM Block
Talks between O’Donovan’s department and the Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers were particularly fraught this year, with Chambers insistent on reform and spending discipline being at the centre of Budget 2027.
This means many ministers were sent back to re-do their homework after arriving with spending requests way above what Chambers and his department were willing to grant.
What were O’Donovan’s asks?
O’Donovan initially asked for a package of €899 million to fund current spending (that is non-capital spending on things like building or renovation works).
His department is not high-spending, but it does have a lot of agencies under it – all of which have their own demands and agendas to implement. In addition to RTÉ, they have the likes of the Arts Council, Sport Ireland, TG4, and funding for sporting bodies like the FAI and GAA.
O’Donovan also wanted money for policy measures like a culture card, a pre-loaded €100 voucher for 16 year olds to participate in cultural activities.
This was whittled down to an ask of €879 million, then €858 million over the course of last week – but as of late last week, Chambers was only willing to approve €827 million.
How did it escalate?
Last Friday, O’Donovan and the junior minister in his department Charlie McConalogue put pen to paper, sending Chambers a letter stuffed with stark warnings about the consequences of not increasing funding for the department.
The letter, seen by The Irish Times, warned that from the €827 million on the table, the department would only be able to meet spending requirements for the flagship Basic Income for the Arts scheme, spending on hosting the Ryder Cup and the European Football Championships, and its pay bill.
There was an extensive list of things which O’Donovan said his department wouldn’t be able to do if it didn’t get more money. These include:
- No increase in funding for Sport Ireland;
- No increases for TG4, national museums, galleries or other arts or cultural organisations, and no possibility of contributing to the costs of the National Centre for Research and Remeberence for Magdaelen laundries;
- Cuts for Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann and Creative Ireland and Festival Grant schemes;
- Department would have to withdraw from discussions about hosting further NFL games in Croke Park and the Open golf championship in Ireland.
O’Donovan warned Chambers of “significant reputational damage to the wider government” if these things came to pass.
What did O’Donovan say about RTÉ?
O’Donovan warned that based on the money on offer, the Government – not just the department – “will renege on the three-year funding deal agreed with RTÉ in July 2024”, going on to add that “in fact, we now envisage a cut to RTÉ funding next year in the order of €11mn”. This suggests that RTÉ would have got €229 million for next year, down from the €240 million it received for 2026.
What happened next?
Amid tense budget negotiations over the weekend, another €21 million was found for O’Donovan’s department.
The extra money appears to have addressed the risk of an €11 million cut for RTÉ, with some presumably being spread around to avert the doom-laden scenario described in O’Donovan’s letter. But O’Donovan suggested at his post-budget press conference that there were things the Department couldn’t do. Going after major sporting events would be subject to further Government decision, he said, while the plan for the culture card has stalled.
As for RTÉ, it was allocated just €240 million – not the €260 million that is envisioned by the 2024 agreement.
RTÉ said they were only informed of this three hours in advance. O’Donovan suggested this was down to the slow pace of reform, which RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst rejected.
The minister said it would be a “fair extrapolation” of his remarks at a long post-budget press conference that the funding situation played a role as well but, confusingly, added: “That’s not actually what I said at all.”
The Opposition hopped on the controversy, with media committee chairman Alan Kelly calling on O’Donovan to “resolve [the] looming clash” with RTÉ.
Where does it go from here?
Thecontroversy throws up a number of questions.
The Irish Times understands that Government leaders and Chambers believed the extra funding made available to O’Donovan would solve any difficulties with the RTÉ allocation. So, what exactly did the Government know about the planned cut?
There is also the question of reneging on the agreement. O’Donovan denies the decision amounts to a “cut” in funding. But will RTÉ argue that failing to deliver the extra €20 million constitutes reneging – and what are the implications of this?
Also, the justification for the cut is still unclear. Is the decision down to a lack of funds, as suggested by the department’s letter, or a failure to speedily reform as claimed by O’Donovan?
The current situation doesn’t seem sustainable. RTÉ’s chair Terence O’Rourke is demanding talks with O’Donovan, while Bakhurst has gone to the barricades, suggesting difficult decisions lie ahead for the broadcaster based on the current figures.
The key political question at this juncture is whether O’Donovan and RTÉ will move to defuse or escalate the row.
