SIPTU, which represents the members of the National Symphony Orchestra, has welcomed a recommendation that the orchestra be removed from RTE, writes Michael Dervan.
Recommendations to establish the NSO on a statutory basis and under an independent board were among the findings of the review body PIANO (Provisional and Institutional Arrangements Now for Orchestras and Ensembles), which delivered its report to the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, Mr Higgins, last week.
Mr John Swift, branch secretary of SIPTU, said that the report was seen by NSO members "as providing the basis for an informed public debate on the future of classical music in Ireland".
RTE said that the report was of "grave concern" to it.