RTE publish details of top earners

RTÉ have finally revealed what their biggest stars earn after receiving applications to do so under the Freedom of Information Act.
In an unprecedented move the broadcaster has let the pay details of 27 of their top presenters be known, but without identifying just who earns what. The national broadcaster declined to name individuals on the list which revealed the number of its employees that fall into high wage brackets. It is widely held that 'Late, Late Show' and 'Today' presenter Pat Kenny sits at the top of the pile with a wage of around €500,000 – or over twice what Taoiseach Bertie Ahern made last year.
One presenter earned between €400,000-€500,000 and one earned between €300,000-€400,000. The latter is thought to be Marian Finucane. Three presenters made between €150,000-€200,000 and 10 more made over €100,000. It has been reported that Miriam O'Callaghan and Bryan Dobson are among the 10. A further 11 individuals receive pay cheques of between €75,000-€100,000.
The news will dismay RTÉ staff who have had suffer downsizing of late in an effort to reduce operating costs.
Last week at the Forum on Broadcasting in Dublin, RTÉ Authority director general Bob Collins re-iterated his call for greater funding for the corporation saying that it was languishing beneath the EU funding average. Mr Collins has said that a licence fee hike to €152 would be the minimum to see the corporation clear of its €71 million deficit in 2001. The government has been reported as not enthusiastic over licence fee increase proposals.
Also at the Forum, RTÉ director general Bob Collins revealed plans for the corporation to adopt more transparent accounting practises from next year.
Mr Collins also told delegates that from the first quarter of 2003 "there will be a degree of transparency and openness in the way RTE presents its information". He said that the change was long overdue and he expected the corporation to institute a five-year review which would evaluate RTE's strategy for the future and review its performance in the market.
The situation at RTÉ has seemed increasingly worrisome as a report from KPMG and Logical delivered to the RTÉ Authority last Thursday was expected to say that recent restructuring programme – which including 460 job losses – has not been as successful as had been hoped.
RTÉ, www.rte.ie
(GMcG)