Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wanted to touch on something else. The Minister is aware that licence fee receipts will be down by €21 million by the end of the year, and possibly even more. She is aware of the recent survey regarding public confidence in RTÉ, not just regarding what happened and all that we went through but also regarding the maintenance of RTÉ Player, the constant repeats and all of that sort of thing.

RTÉ's biggest problem now, however, is going to be regaining the public's trust and encouraging people to see the benefit in again paying for their TV licence, but it has a mountain to climb to regain that trust. Moreover, I expect people are not going to swallow one aspect of that too easily, namely, the fact nobody involved has either been held to account or sanctioned and there is no talk of that whatsoever. Members of the executive board took early retirement, which was grand but they were not affected in any way. They went off with their retirement packages, which they were entitled to do, but nobody has been sanctioned and that is where the buck stops at accountability. We can bring in new robust measures but, as has always happened in this State, nobody is held to account, and that is RTÉ's biggest worry. I hope it will show levels of accountability and that sanctions will be put in place for people following the investigations in which we have discovered they knew it all, said nothing and went along with it. I know we will have to wait until the conclusion of the investigations but, as I said, it is the public with whom RTÉ has to deal and whose confidence it has to regain. A key aspect is that no one is ever held to account and it will stick in people's craw if nobody is ever sanctioned. They get a slap on the wrist and can move on.

Turning to RTÉ's new strategic plan, a serious commitment has been given to cost-cutting measures and achieving value for money. I assume that is ongoing and well under way, but has the Minister asked for an update on the engagement with the unions for the ordinary workers, who had no hand, act or part in any of this? People will fear they will be the ones to suffer the most. Has RTÉ been dealing with the unions in that regard? Has the Minister sought an update on that? The vast majority of the workers are not on the big bucks or on the executive board.