The Department of Arts and Media under former minister Catherine Martin backed increasing the €250,000 pay rate for the head of RTÉ, as it said it had fallen considerably in real terms due to rising living costs.
The department also supported a higher salary for the director general of TG4, which stands at just over €160,000.
The department told a recent government-established review of pay for chief executives of commercial State companies that the salaries attributable to the director general positions in both broadcasters had “declined significantly in real terms since 2016 and have not taken account of cost of living pressures”.
It said the Central Statistics Office had estimated that the cost of goods and services rose by more than 22 per cent between October 2016 and May 2024.
The review by the Government-appointed Senior Post Remuneration Committee (SPRC) found pay packages for chief executives of almost 30 commercial State companies had fallen behind the market. On foot of the SPRC‘s recommendations, the Government last month signalled it would update rules to allow a “market rate” to be paid to chief executives of commercial State companies.
The €250,000 salary for RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst effectively sets a benchmark for other pay rates in the broadcaster.
Reforms introduced following a 2023 controversy around hidden payments at RTÉ set out that no individual, including top presenters and broadcasters, would be permitted to earn more than the director general after existing contract arrangements expired.
The SPRC in June 2024 asked Ms Martin, as minister, for her views on top-level pay rates at RTÉ and TG4 as both came under her auspices.
In a reply on behalf of the minister on July 29th last year the department said neither the post of director general of RTÉ nor that of TG4 received a pay increase for about eight years.
“As both directors general are not part of a collective pay agreement, the relative level of their remuneration since 2016 has significantly declined, compared to other employees in their organisations,” the department said.
It did not specify to the SPRC what pay level it envisaged for the posts.
It said that given the directors general were the editorial, operational and creative leaders of their organisations, there was a need to recruit and retain people with the necessary skills.
Director general roles are “complex and multifaceted requiring personal traits”, such as understanding the broadcasters’ values, being a compelling communicator and being resilient to challenges that may arise, it said. Also “essential” to success in the role, it said, is editorial judgment, creative leadership, strategic thinking and commercial acumen, while a director general should also have significant senior relevant experience in a creative organisation.
The department urged the SPRC, “given the limited scale of the Irish broadcasting sector”, to take these factors into account alongside conditions in comparable public and private roles abroad.
It said the RTÉ and TG4 directors general at the time had been previously employed by Ofcom, the UK broadcast regulator, and the BBC.
It said remuneration “should reflect the unique challenge and privilege of leading RTÉ or TG4″, as well as the fact they are financed by licence fee payers and public money.
