Sir, - I wish to clarify a number of matters arising from a report in your edition of October 4th. As part of the Transformation process which, inter alia, involves a reduction of 330 staff in RTE - more than 120 of whom have already concluded agreements - a severance arrangement was made with Ms Emer Woodfull in response to an application from her for such an arrangement. The terms of this severance were wholly within the guidelines applying to other RTE employees in these cases. Agreement was reached with RTE's personnel division in the normal way; no lawyers were involved on either side.
This severance arrangement was not a settlement arising from the bullying complaint from Ms Woodfull earlier this year against the director of radio. That complaint was dealt with by an appropriately constituted inquiry and was not upheld. The matter was therefore closed. Nothing in the complaint nor arising from the inquiry warranted a "settlement". There is no causal connection between the two events. - Yours, etc.,
Bob Collins, Director-General, RTE, Dublin 4.