Another top notch Kildare Street outing from RTÉ.
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The hall was packed for Wednesday’s double-hander starring director general Kevin Bakhurst and his sidekick, deputy DG Adrian Lynch.
They always pull a big crowd.
Not that this right pair of smoothies had much to do during their appearance before the Oireachtas media committee – they barely got a chance to say anything.
The politicians just barked at them for most of their 2½ hours in the spotlight.
But it was a good show.
This meeting featured a bonus episode of Callan’s Kicks, aired live from Committee Room One.
Or Callan’s Kicked, as it turned out, with TDs and Senators getting stuck into what exactly RTÉ pays the broadcaster and satirist who has a daily two-hour show, a weekly political satire show and TV comedy specials in the new year.
He is paid €150,000 for his recently landed radio gig, his own production company has produced Callan’s for years and an independent company engages him to do the one-off shows.
Three Olivers in the one job, as the members saw it. And they wanted a full breakdown of payments.
For the transparency, like.
At the start, Alan Kelly, committee chairman and scenery chewer-in-chief, was delighted to announce that they had a full house and the members took this to heart, constantly cutting off the witnesses as soon as they opened their mouths to explain or schmoozify.
A number of officials from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport formed a supporting cast. They were relegated to the role of spear carriers for the duration of the show, except when one or two kinder committee members noticed their lonesome plight and fired off a cursory question.
The meeting was the usual rip-roaring fare but was sold short by the authorities as “an engagement with RTÉ about funding and pensions”.
But it was much more than that, particularly when a fresh presenter payments scandalette – not on a par with the 2023 Ryan Tubridy Summer of Uproar from 2023 – is hogging the headlines.
TDs and Senators of the media committee were suitably horrified on behalf of the dwindling licence-holders and the thoroughly demoralised journalistic staff in Montrose.
The controversy sparked by the news that wildlife presenter Derek Mooney was reclassified as a producer which meant his €200,000 salary did not appear in the list of top earners, led the intrepid politicians on a fascinating trawl around what other well known RTÉ figures might be paid.
“Unfortunately, this isn’t another scandal” sighed Kilkenny ‘s Peter “Chap” Cleere (Fianna Fáil) at the beginning of his routine.
But, chin up.
“It appears to be a culture that is happening in RTÉ.”
Brian Brennan, the Fine Gael TD for Wicklow-Wexford couldn’t agree more.
“Scandal after scandal and as sure as night follows day we’ll be back here again in six months” he told directors Kevin and Adrian (Kadrian).
Brian wondered if “the structures are in place to stop this drip, drip of skeleton upon skeleton?”
It’s like the vaults of St Michan’s in Montrose these days, which would be a health and safety issue in most other organisations.
No wonder staff are disgruntled.
We know this because the TDs and Senators told Kadrian that they received tons of messages from them in advance of the meeting, complaining about unfair treatment when it comes to pay levels, job recognition and commensurate work.
Dublin-Rathdown TD Sinead Gibney (Social Democrats) had so many questions to ask she hadn’t time for the answers.
They ranged from RTÉ “having a KPMG-consulting CFO” to a request to abandon coverage of the Ireland-Israel football game and “specifically, I wanted to talk about Up for the Match”.
Des Cahill, long-time presenter of the popular All-Ireland Final preview show which is to be outsourced to an independent company, was also up for mention. But for a different reason.
Chap Cleere came up out with an unexpected zinger when he inquired; “If you are an RTÉ contestant on Dancing with the Stars, do you get a payment as well as your salary?”
Dep DG Lynch was ready with his answer because a press query had just come in with the same question, which was rather coincidental for Chap.
“So, I can confirm that Marty Morrissey did not get paid,” he smiled, delighted with himself because no RTÉ committee appearance can happen without the obligatory mention of GAA guru and man about town, Marty.
“He didn’t deserve to get paid for the quality of his dancing, in fairness” replied the TD.
“And I’ve seen Chap doing the Charleston” quipped his party colleague, Malcolm Bryne.
And the other dancer was Des, “who is a contractor” added Adrian.
Did other RTÉ people appear not on the show, wondered the former Kilkenny hurler, knowing full well that they did.
“I’ll have to check.”
Fine Gael Senator, Garret Ahearn, turned his attention to the Ireland-Czech Republic World Cup qualifying game in Prague and the fact that RTÉ sent a 41-strong team to cover it for its various platforms.
Bakhurst said the radio contingent made a profit for RTÉ after expenses due to commercial tie-ins.
Then Garret got forensic.
“And of the 41 people, does that include the 2 Johnnies?”
Apparently not.
Their answers about some employees getting personal deals far above the salary of colleagues doing similar work astonished Senator Ronán Mullen.
“It sounds like you’re still out on Animal Farm and that some animals are still more equal than others.”
Of course, amid all this kickabout, there were serious points at issue.
They were brought home in stark terms by former broadcasters turned Senators Alison Comyn – “one system for journalists and one for the ‘stars’” – and Evanne Ní Chuilainn, until last year a former high-profile RTÉ sports presenter.
She presented the director general and his deputy with some stark facts about the large numbers of people in RTÉ – she was one of them – battling an unfair “two-tier system”.
It was a rare moment, for any committee, when it’s usually the top brass on one side lining up against the top brass on the other.
This was someone who lived the reality of “poorly treated” presenters, journalists and producers in RTÉ, cutting through the noise and articulate sidesteps.
And chairman Kelly, through the silently listening executives, issued a searing rebuke to their organisation for the “horrendous” way that the late Seán Rocks, the highly regarded arts show presenter, was treated over the last 16 years when his job was wrongly classified, leading now to severe financial implications for his partner and their children.
Maybe, Alan hoped, Sean will be the “symbol”, the catalyst for action to implement real change and transparency in RTÉ.
