Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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I thank Mr. Curran and his staff for their presentation. I have always given great praise to RTE, but I have never been able to understand the obscene wage structure for those at the top. In the past we were told advertising paid for many of the top earners, but their earnings should have been related to the size of population or audience as much as anything else. Ireland is a small country of 4.5 million people, compared to a population of 60 million in Britain and it is beyond belief there is a mindset that we can have broadcasters with the same wage structures as those in Britain. How many of the top earners have different wages for working on radio and television? Is this right? Ms O'Keeffe has said the average salary was €300,000, but if people are double jobbing, is this taken into account in the calculation? Are their taxes paid directly by RTE or do they use companies to avail of tax breaks? I do not know whether that is true, but I keep hearing it is the case. I am not even sure whether I should ask the question, but it has been said many times that they do not pay the same taxes as everyone else while taking home massive earnings.

RTE's revenue is down by more than €100 million. Is there a critical mass of staff? Is there a cut-off point for staff reductions? I acknowledge the organisation has reduced staff numbers substantially during the years, but is the point approaching at which no more can be cut?

With regard to advertising, there is an ongoing debate about whether alcohol advertisements should be permitted. Does Mr. Curran have a view on this? Does he believe that in an ideal world such advertisements should not be broadcast? Would this cost the station substantially?

I enjoy many of the home produced programmes. Are they much cheaper to make than buying programmes on the open market or do they cost a great deal more?

How many legal actions are lodged against RTE annually? How much do they cost every year?

Mr. Curran has stated the average staff salary is €55,000, which excludes contractors. Is that correct? I hear the average salary at TV3 is in excess of €30,000, but I do not know whether that is correct. Can RTE learn lessons from the way that station manages its budget without a subvention of any description?

Mr. Curran has stated that, as the staff and wage reductions kick in, RTE will begin to generate a profit and that the deficit of €60 million will reduce. How long will it take to return to profitability?