Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming in. It has been a traumatic three weeks with regard to RTÉ and all the revelations that have emerged. I welcome the Bill put forward by Senator Mullen. It is obviously very timely. Pay caps in RTÉ is an issue that has been pursued by the NUJ and SIPTU for a long time. There is a particular need in this regard when we see the very large gap between the highest salaries and the average salary, which is around €45,000, in RTÉ. Many people are on fixed-term contracts. They are not on permanent contracts, notwithstanding the fact that they only work for RTÉ and have done so for some years.

I welcome the Bill. We would probably have gone further than Senator Mullen had we written the Bill, however. While we need to look at salary caps, we also need to look at the model of employment within RTÉ. It is incredible that a commercial semi-State body relies on contractors to provide core services. This is not about taking on somebody for a six-month or 12-month project. Many of the presenters have been there for many years yet the agent-contractor model has led to some of the problems and the fiasco in which RTÉ finds itself. I welcome the commissioning of the external review, especially the element that is to be led by Patricia King and Brendan McGinty and that will look at the employment practices in RTÉ.

There is a slight irony that we have had a number of reports over the years. There was the Eversheds Sutherland report into bogus self-employment and then there was the Resolve Ireland report on workplace culture in the organisation. As the Minister is no doubt aware, the NUJ had a tortuous experience in trying to extract that report from RTÉ and had to go to the Information Commissioner to get it. That part of the external review is very welcome.My concern with the overall review is we need to ensure the financing model is looked at as being one of the main contributory factors behind the current RTÉ debacle. My concern about the terms of reference of the external reviews is that they are not sufficiently designed to incorporate a review of the financing model. I know there is the expert group on the reform of the television licence. As Senator Malcolm Byrne said, we had hoped to have the conversation about that now. RTÉ relies on getting 45% of its revenues from the commercial sector, which is at odds with many public broadcasters in other countries. I believe the EU average is between 18% and 20% for reliance on commercial revenues. That puts RTÉ very much as an outlier and out of step with other public service broadcasters. We have to ask the extent to which that model has led us to the current state.

I believe Senator Warfield may have raised this. We have seen frenzied speculation in recent days about job cuts coming down the line, about the closure of the Cork studio and about other changes coming. On the one hand, we cannot have the Government saying it is pausing the review of the licence fee reform and yet RTÉ will continue to have that financial crisis this year. Notwithstanding the sins of a few at the very top of the organisation, we need to ensure that those who go in day in and day out to provide a service of the highest journalistic standards within RTÉ are supported and are not left short. They are the people who are really suffering.

I acknowledged earlier that it has been a gruelling time for everyone within RTÉ, particularly the people who have had to come in for their third committee appearance today. The other side of it is that they are very well paid. Many people go in there day in day out in public service. They are not paid to the levels they should be paid, but they go in there because they are performing a public service. We cannot forget them and we must ensure that they are supported. There are still many issues outstanding. People have been privately telling us during the week about trying to access equipment and trying to access resources. I know there is an ongoing issue with trying to get a basic travel and subsistence system in place. However, from what we heard today we know that the top 100 people are getting allowances of between €24,000 and €42,000, which are very significant amounts of money. I appeal to the Minister to ensure that RTÉ staff, those whom we are all praising at the moment, are not left wanting in the delivery of their jobs and their services throughout this year.