RTÉ will have to move away from "Dublin-centric" TV and radio coverage under a new charter published by the Minister for Communications, Mr Dermot Ahern, yesterday.
The station will also have to ensure its presenters and contractors do not have conflicts of interest.
Mr Ahern, speaking to The Irish Times, said there was a perception that RTÉ's coverage was at times "Dublin-centric", although he conceded the station had taken steps to address this with the appointment of several new regional correspondents.
Under the charter, this process must continue. "Events should not be assessed and reported upon from a Dublin perspective alone," the charter states.
"RTÉ programming shall reflect regional diversity and include a significant range and proportion of indigenous programming made outside the greater Dublin area," it adds.
The Minister said that, following controversy about newscaster's Bryan Dobson's outside work, the Department wanted to see reference to potential conflicts of interest in the charter.
The charter now reads: "RTÉ will safeguard its editorial independence through an effective code of ethics for employees and contractors. The code of ethics will contain provisions to ensure no conflict of interest exists in relation to the performance of its employees and contractors."
Mr Ahern said: "I believe this charter outlines to the public in broad terms what they can expect from RTÉ in return for the payments they make annually."
The group of unions at the station said they had sought several amendments to the charter but these were rejected by the Department. They claimed the charter was "not ambitious enough".
The Irish Secretary of the NUJ, Mr Séamus Dooley, stated: "The NUJ are obviously pleased that the charter has been accepted. There is a sense in which much contained within the charter is a statement of the obvious, while at the same time key elements are based on false assumptions about work already carried out by RTÉ."