Gabrielle McFadden (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Last year RTÉ reported a loss of €6.4 million, despite a subvention from the State in the form of licence fees of €186 million. Given that level of loss it was a source of great disappointment to me to hear last week of the large salaries paid to top earners in the State broadcaster. For example, one of them received a pay rise of €50,000 to give him a total income of €150,000 per annum, at a time when inflation is negligible. At that rate, the broadcaster in question will have earned the average industrial wage by the end of January. One should not get me wrong: I am not picking on just one in particular, I believe all of the salaries of the top earners in RTÉ are excessive. My point is not about one individual. I question the approach to salaries in general at the State broadcaster. The level of salaries seem too high and such significant increases seem unwarranted.

The treatment of some of the top earners in RTÉ seems very much at variance to the treatment of Martina Fitzgerald the previous week. From my experience, she is a consummate professional. I was shocked and disappointed to hear that her contract as a political correspondent was not renewed. The only reason I can think of for the non-renewal of her contract is the fact that she shone a light on the gender pay gap in RTÉ. It is hard for me to reconcile how management in RTÉ is that sensitive to criticism and at the same time can award pay increases to individuals that are more than the average industrial wage. That is not to mention the 160 odd workers at RTÉ who may have been misclassified as self employed, resulting in them losing out on certain employment benefits. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister to the House in the new year, first, so that we can hear his opinion, and, second, perhaps we could have a debate on same.