TOP RTE; presenters should set an example by emulating senior management at the station and taking a pay cut, an Oireachtas committee is to urge. A call for the station's most highly paid stars to take the pay cut was made yesterday at a meeting of the Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources by Senator Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) .
“RTÉ is facing a shortfall in its revenues for 2009 in the order of €50 million and the director general has already indicated to this committee that members of senior management have taken a cut in their salaries,” he said.
Well-paid contract presenters at the station should follow this example, said Mr Walsh.
The committee chairman, Fianna Fáil TD MJ Nolan, said it would be contacting the director general of RTÉ to ascertain whether there was a provision for these contracts to be renegotiated so that payment to RTÉ’s top talent could be reduced in the current climate.
It was subsequently confirmed yesterday that RTÉ has asked top broadcasters, including Pat Kenny and Gerry Ryan, to take a pay freeze for the duration of their contracts.
The move followed a decision by RTÉ’s directly employed staff to accept a freeze on pay, bonuses and annual increments, and salary reductions of up to 17 per cent for senior management.
The request for a pay freeze for the remainder of their contracts was made to its leading broadcasters in writing within the last month, it is understood.
The majority of those concerned have three-year contracts, with increases applying in the second and third years. Pat Kenny and Ryan Tubridy are nearing the end of their current contracts, it is understood.
Derek Mooney and Miriam O’Callaghan have indicated their willingness to accept cuts.
Last year, 2FM presenter Gerry Ryan, who earned €538,000, in 2006 – the latest year for which salary figures are available – objected to the suggestion that he should taken a pay cut.
Senator Walsh said the broadcasters were 'in a privileged position'