Director general says RTÉ facing tough times

RTÉ MANAGEMENT has warned of significant “financial challenges” ahead as it deals with the fallout from a number of controversies.

In a circular to staff this week, director general Noel Curran said much of the recent criticism of the station over its handling of The Frontline presidential debate had been fair and that the situation was of the station’s own making.

He said that when the broadcaster makes “serious mistakes” it should be expected to be criticised.

He also told staff that senior management would be announcing plans in the coming week to deal with the financial challenges facing the broadcaster. It had a shortfall of €17 million last year and has just finalised a voluntary redundancy scheme.

However, Mr Curran is expected to announce further cutbacks as the broadcaster attempts to cut its deficit, which has resulted from falling advertising and commercial revenues. In his circular, Mr Curran said all staff needed to be “tough and honest with ourselves if we are to come through this difficult period stronger”. He also accepted that RTÉ’s defence of its programming in the past may have been over-defensive.

The Oireachtas all-party committee on communications has indicated it will ask Mr Curran and chairman of the RTÉ Authority Tom Savage to appear at a meeting within the next few weeks to answer questions on the controversies and how the broadcaster has responded to them.

Last weekend, an audience member Pat McGuirk, who put a question to presidential candidate Seán Gallagher during the final televised debate, complained about his dealings with The Frontline.

Yesterday, the Sunday Independent claimed that The Frontline had failed to acknowledge that an audience member, Dermot Fitzpatrick, who asked a question of another candidate David Norris had “already pledged his support” to the Labour candidate Michael D Higgins.

The newspaper said the pledge had been made online to a Labour councillor in Dublin North, Tom Kelleher, whose daughter Aoife Kelleher is an assistant producer with the programme.

An RTÉ source said Ms Kelleher had no involvement with the selection of Mr Fitzpatrick, who wrote to the programme of his own accord.

The source said Mr Fitzpatrick contacted the programme after the broadcast to say he had voted for Mr Norris based on the answer he had given to his question.