The sale of the RTÉ Guide and a possible commercial venture on its 32-acre land bank at Donnybrook are still being considered by RTÉ, despite Wednesday's announcement of a €43 licence fee increase.
The station is looking at various ways to increase revenue and it is understood the sale of the RTÉ Guide is the most likely option. However, no decision has been taken at this stage. The sale of excess land in Beaumont, north Dublin, is also a possibility.
In a document submitted to the Minister for Communications, Mr Ahern, last month the station said it would decide on the magazine's future by next autumn at the latest.
The title has traditionally been the Republic's biggest-selling magazine, but due to competition from newspapers and listings magazine like TV Now, its circulation has been falling.
The station considered selling the title before, but when the business environment turned negative the decision was put on hold. RTÉ sources said last night that of all its assets the magazine was the most likely to be sold.
The pressure to sell assets will be greatly reduced because of the licence fee decision, but RTÉ still needs a strong revenue stream to fund its output of new drama, news and children's programming over the next five years, said sources.
In relation to its extensive grounds in Donnybrook, the company is considering several possibilities. In its submission to the Mr Ahern, which was released on Wednesday, the company said it would be open to joint ventures.
About one quarter of its Donnybrook site is currently being demolished and cleared and it would be possible to use this space in future. The submission to Mr Ahern talks of RTÉ "participating or sharing, as a protected and limited partner, in an appropriate development on the site".
The disposal of the site is now thought to be extremely unlikely, but other possibilities are being seriously looked. RTÉ's chief financial officer, Mr Conor Hayes, who is believed to be extremely commercially minded, is in favour of the station utilising funds from assets that are no longer required.
However, any sales will only be undertaken after a consultation process internally.
The station's submission to Mr Ahern gives details on how its programming is likely to change over the next five to six years. A renewed focus on programmes for children and young people will be a major part of this. About €3.4 million will be spent on a range of new programmes.
The money will go towards: a new Sunday night political programme; a current affairs investigative programme; a business programme; a regional news programme and a programme called Order of Business, concentrating on Taoiseach's question time in the Dáil.
Two additional correspondents are also going to be created for Dundalk and Dublin. There will also be a special investigative unit, which will work closely with the station's chief news correspondent, Charlie Bird, on breaking major news stories.
The station also hopes to extend its foreign news coverage, with more journalists reporting directly from abroad.
The station made the case to Mr Ahern that it had to compete with BBC and ITV with far smaller resources.
It pointed out that it used smaller numbers of staff to produce the Late, Late Show than the BBC's Parkinson chat show.