Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I note the response of the Minister and his reference to the BAI and the fact that there is an external audit. The shareholder on behalf of he taxpayer and the householder is the Minister. In 2017 RTÉ looked for the licence fee to rise to €175 because, as we know, it was in significant financial difficulty at the time. Certain measures were taken to address that issue. I am asking what conversations take place between the Minister and the director general of RTÉ. Some of the costs at the station seem to be excessive. We are fully in favour of good public service broadcasting and funding it, but if one looks at wages alone, one will see figures of €495,000, €400,000 and €389,000, which are substantial sums for a station that is serving the population of the whole island of 6,500,000, which is roughly half that of London. The BBC, for example, proposed the introduction of a cap on pay.

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