RTÉ – Boo Hoo There’s No Money Left

RTÉ always was the best example of greed and corruption in this country. The poor old friggers are on the brink of bankruptcy apparently, unless they manage to implement drastic pay cuts all round, or else pull around one hundred million euro out of Gerry Ryan’s bottom. What a strange surprise this financial trouble must be for RTÉ. I don’t think they ever suspected that their ‘pay obscene amounts of money to people who don’t deserve it’ model would ever run into trouble. But don’t worry everyone; management have a plan to save the day. The highest earners will take the biggest pay cut, the middle earners will take less of a cut, and so on down to the lowest earners, who won’t pay anything at all. Cathal Goan, the Director General of RTÉ, will be outlining this wonderfully fair solution to RTÉ staff in the near future. This is an Irish solution to an Irish problem. Just like the HSE, the management in RTÉ and another select few earn spectacularly undeserved amounts of money topped up with huge bonuses and expense accounts, while the lowly staff, who keep everything going, earn only what they deserve. When the shit hits the fan however, it’s the management who have to come up with the cost-cutting measures. They then show how fair they are by taking the most from the highest earners, who are earning around five times too much anyway.

In 2007 Cathal Goan earned €441,000, more than US President Barack Obama. In the same year Mr Goan’s basic salary was €283,000, his performance-related bonus was €108,000, his pension supplement was €23,000 and his other benefits amounted to €27,000. His salary was up from €360,000 on the previous year.

In the same year, managing directors in RTE earned between €150,000 and €200,000. They also received a bonus of €20,000, a ‘performance-related uplift’ of €5,200 and another €30,000 for simply being a member of the executive board.

The figures are the last official earnings to have been released by the state broadcaster. Management have said they have since taken pay cuts to their bonuses but the publication of the 2008 Annual Report, currently due out, has been delayed.

All members on the executive board also receive €12,000 a year for driving their cars to work. The ‘car allowance’ is given to managers who simply park in the station car park at Donnybrook.

RTE are looking for a five per cent reduction on the first €50,000 in earnings, seven and a half per cent on the next €50,000, 10 per cent on those earning between €100,000 and €150,000 and 12.5 per cent between €150,000 and €250,000.

Sunday Independent

€12,000 a year ‘car allowance?’ It might be funny, if it wasn’t public money paying for it. I think it’s pretty obvious what needs to be done. Brazen fat-cat management types like Cathal Goan and ‘personality presenters’ like Gerry Ryan, Ryan Tubridy and Pat Kenny need to have their wages adjusted so that it at least appears that they are operating on the same planet as we are. If they don’t like it, then let them find out how much other people are willing to pay for them.

In their own minds, they are doing a great favour to RTÉ by staying here. They think that they could earn just as much money across the pond. Everyone wants them. Not. As if anyone else would employ Ryan Tubridy, who I like to think is Ireland’s version of Stephen Fry, but without the intelligence. I don’t think that Gerry Ryan would find a job with the BBC; they already have their own idiotic walrus, Chris Moyles.