Results 321-340 of 3,444 for speaker:Shane Cassells

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: RTÉ Oversight and Long-Term Support and Funding: Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (4 Oct 2023)

Shane Cassells: I have one question for the director general. I raise the issue of the less well remunerated, which is the RTÉ pensioners. A pay increase due to RTÉ pensioners, of 2.5%, was granted last December. Ten months on, there is nothing. Their contracts state that pension increases are linked to the wage and pay agreements. We have seen top executives have their pay restored, with some...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: RTÉ Oversight and Long-Term Support and Funding: Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (4 Oct 2023)

Shane Cassells: On that, concern has been expressed by some of these pensioners because they are involved with a superannuation scheme on one hand and there has been decision-making around that and reports on RTÉ, its financing and its funding. I want to stress the case for these pensioners. I ask for a response, given that this was granted. We have seen this with the delay with the An Post...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: RTÉ Oversight and Long-Term Support and Funding: Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (4 Oct 2023)

Shane Cassells: Could the Minister come back to me in writing on that? Is that okay?

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by An Taoiseach (28 Sep 2023)

Shane Cassells: I join the Cathaoirleach in welcoming my friend, Brian McGlinchey, the Irish consul to Delaware. He is very welcome. I thank him for his work in the United States on behalf of our country. The Taoiseach is very welcome to the Chamber. I thank him for his address. He put the issue of healthcare at the core of his speech, and rightly so. He spoke of reforming the health service and making...

Seanad: Crime and Policing: Motion (27 Sep 2023)

Shane Cassells: The Minister is welcome to the Chamber. Back in 2017, at a meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts, of which I was a member, we had the then Garda Commissioner, Nóirín O'Sullivan, before us, and she spoke of her belief that the streets were inherently safe and of how there was not an issue in the country. Her comments came in the same week that the local newspaper of the...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Engagement with Coimisiún na Meán on the 2023 Work Programme (27 Sep 2023)

Shane Cassells: I warmly welcome all the members of the Media Commission. Their work is needed now more than ever so I wish them well in their work. I hope they are successful. The commission's establishment is fantastic and it is fantastic to see its members here today. It is a hugely important component for Irish life, Irish society, Irish democracy and the Irish media. Jim Morrison famously said...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Engagement with Coimisiún na Meán on the 2023 Work Programme (27 Sep 2023)

Shane Cassells: The point on market power is interesting because we had many of the publishers and news organisations before us over the course of over a year to discus the online media Bill. One of the points they consistently made was the use of their information and news gathering, which was then monetised by others for which the news organisations received no income. We have seen in August this year...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Engagement with Coimisiún na Meán on the 2023 Work Programme (27 Sep 2023)

Shane Cassells: I compliment Mr. Ó Domhnaill on that. It is a scheme that has worked well in the United Kingdom, where the former media secretary introduced a similar scheme. There are two issues. First, local newspapers might not be alive to be able to avail of it. When we introduced a 0% VAT rate on newspapers in last year’s budget, as the then Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, was on...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Engagement with Coimisiún na Meán on the 2023 Work Programme (27 Sep 2023)

Shane Cassells: There are two issues here. One is the issue of content. I think RTÉ does an exemplary job in providing content and has done so for many decades. There is then the issue of governance. What are Ms Craig's views on the Taoiseach’s comments on splitting RTÉ in two - a commercial wing and a public service wing?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Engagement with Coimisiún na Meán on the 2023 Work Programme (27 Sep 2023)

Shane Cassells: I have a final question.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Engagement with Coimisiún na Meán on the 2023 Work Programme (27 Sep 2023)

Shane Cassells: On the work programme for quarter 1 next year, there is a section on sports broadcasting and sports stakeholder consultation and a strategic plan for sports broadcasting. Can Ms Craig elaborate on that?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Engagement with Coimisiún na Meán on the 2023 Work Programme (27 Sep 2023)

Shane Cassells: Okay. The-----

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Engagement with Coimisiún na Meán on the 2023 Work Programme (27 Sep 2023)

Shane Cassells: I appreciate that but I hope that we still have platforms to cover courts and local councils. As was pointed out to us, there was no local newspaper in the area where the Grenfell Tower scenario happened. The planning decision on the tower was taken at a council meeting. There was no local paper in the area to cover that event. The July Reuters report into trust in the Irish media showed...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: RTÉ (Resumed) (13 Sep 2023)

Shane Cassells: I welcome the witnesses, and Mr. Bakhurst in particular. In an earlier response, he mentioned his dealings with staff and his interactions with them. On my way to the committee room, I heard Emma O'Kelly of the RTÉ branch of the National Union of Journalists, NUJ, on the "News At One" with Bryan Dobson. Ms O'Kelly, who is RTÉ's education correspondent, expressed the worries of...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: RTÉ (Resumed) (13 Sep 2023)

Shane Cassells: The recruitment freeze is a stabilisation measure. Mr. Bakhurst said he did not want to impose mandatory staff cuts. Will a process of voluntary redundancies be offered? When looking at the headcount within RTÉ, we have spoken about the loss of confidence among the public. They are looking at a very small portion of the RTÉ high earners, many of whom are not staff members, like...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: RTÉ (Resumed) (13 Sep 2023)

Shane Cassells: Within that, what will be the potential headcount of voluntary redundancies, while conscious of the point Emma O’Kelly made in her interview with Bryan Dobson that they do not have enough staff at the moment within news and current affairs to cover the required output? That has an impact on what RTÉ can cover. I refer to allowing for annual leave as well. That is why I asked...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: RTÉ (Resumed) (13 Sep 2023)

Shane Cassells: Mr. Bakhurst mentioned areas where this will impact, such as the outside broadcasting unit and so on, because obviously that costs a lot of money. Where else are the impacts on investment? Mr. Bakhurst mentioned moving outside of Dublin. There were plans for Athlone and so forth. Where else are those cost-saving measures going to hit RTÉ?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: RTÉ (Resumed) (13 Sep 2023)

Shane Cassells: What would that impact? Is that specifically sport?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: RTÉ (Resumed) (13 Sep 2023)

Shane Cassells: Mr. Bakhurst made quite a combative statement this afternoon. I do not mind that because politicians have made quite combative statements as well, for example, about going to the sell the studio from under his feet and have him filming in a carpark. In his statement, Mr. Bakhurst warned us of the demise of RTÉ if we did not work together – politicians and RTÉ...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: RTÉ (Resumed) (13 Sep 2023)

Shane Cassells: Will the framework plan be published before budget day?