Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

What I am trying to get at is, we have a little experience of it in the Oireachtas in that, when the financial crash happened in the late noughties, the public expected to see cuts to our salaries and that put many people in the Oireachtas under enormous pressure. Gradually, the salaries made it back. The salaries are considered to be high, but it can be a huge disincentive for people to think their salaries will be cut, even at middle or upper management level. Some people might end up leaving and that is the last thing we want. For sure, the talent thing has to be targeted. The director general indicated to the committee that he is already dealing with that. However, the message needs to come from the Government to staff across the board in RTÉ that it is not only about putting them to the pin of their collars and forcing them to move home because they cannot continue to pay their mortgages. People are worried about that at a time when we need everyone in RTÉ to step up to the plate, turn the ship around, get the culture back on track, move the organisation forward into a different space, change management and all of that. If they are looking over their shoulders and there is an expectation that there will be a 5% or 10% cut in salaries, it will be difficult to do. I wonder what or where-----