If RTE don't renew Ray Darcy's contract ?

Bella Doyle

Would Today Fm take him back ?

statto25

No

Elmo

I'd say RTÉ have a 3 year deal with D'Arcy. Same goes for tubrity. Unlikely that they will not renew it.

The deal is simple. RTÉ offered 400,000, this seems low, and gets them away with saying he was on more in Today FM, but the following year regardless of audience he will be on 450,000 and I assume he'll get a bump in the final year 2017, meaning RTÉ have already renew his 3 year contract.

Same goes for Tubs, he's been given 495,000 as a drop, but only on the condition he retains it for 3 years.

Bella Doyle

It was such a stupid business decision to sign Darcy when he was a baldy old man and past his sell by date, if they had signed him back around 2003-2006 when he was popular and fresh it would have made sense.

washman3

He might spark 'outrage' again by threatening to emigrate just like he did some years back on the Late Late show before a general election. Said he would leave the country if Enda Kenny became Taoiseach. Ends won but Darcy stayed put.
It was nothing more than a charade of course, a stunt to get Bertie/FF more votes at a time when the party were on a downward spiral.
This guy is a bluffer of the highest order.

jeremyj1968

He should never have been brought in to RTE again, it was an absolute waste of money for a grumpy old curmudgeon who is way past his best.

Elmo

Bella Doyle wrote: »

It was such a stupid business decision to sign Darcy when he was a baldy old man and past his sell by date, if they had signed him back around 2003-2006 when he was popular and fresh it would have made sense.

RTÉ avoided him for years, he was unlikely to be on Radio, he'd had a few Radio Shows on RTÉ before moving to TodayFM which didn't work. TodayFM used him to lead out of Dempsey.

Look who's joined our Den! was the tag line at the time.

RTÉ are still paying too much for their "stars", he does well on Radio but so did Mooney in that time slot, his chat show on TV has taken a dive, The Saturday Night Show far out did it, strange decision to ditch it for D'Arcy at its height.

vicwatson

Bring back Mooney

kneemos

What happened Moony? He was likeable enough the few times I came across him. Yer one whatshername he had on with him was a deal breaker though.

Darcy is clueless.

Elmo

kneemos wrote: »

What happened Moony? He was likeable enough the few times I came across him. Yer one whatshername he had on with him was a deal breaker though.

He moved to the weekends. He decided to take a break, IMO he might have been stressed after 10+ years doing radio and Winning Streak. (Just the impression I got from the articles I read).

ford fiesta

Mooney also became "the head of wildlife" in RTE

Mikefitzs

D'Arcy was great until he had an opinion. You need to have an opinion at the beginning and carry it through life with you, a bit like Gerry Ryan. He always had an opinion and people always knew what it was and most agreed with it. I'm drunk, I should go home, wait a minute this is my home. Time for bed ;-)

Ursus Horribilis

It'd be a good day for broadcasting. The mind genuinely boggles at why they signed him up. He's a gaffe prone presenter with a bad attitude. That radio slot is almost bombproof so there's no need to be paying him and his entourage the ridiculous money they're getting. Especially as we know RTE is in financial difficulties. He is overpaid and he's not the only one. I can't think of any national station that'd snap him up if he was axed.

Bowlardo

He is unbearable at this stage. I don’t know anyone that likes him or watches the show.
It all went wrong with the wife.
He wasn’t too bad before she ruined him

Ursus Horribilis

It's going too far to suggest his wife ruined him. From what I've heard about him, the personality traits we now see were always there. It's just that we now see them. I still think he's an odd selection for an afternoon radio show. He's not a particularly likeable or versatile broadcaster, he makes a lot of mistakes and his Today FM radio show was on the slide when RTE snapped him up. Thankfully I have access to an Off button and other radio programmes are available

NIMAN

I wouldn't be a fan of his, and would rarely listen to his radio show, but any time I do I am shocked by just how unprofessional he comes across.

Makes mistakes every single day without fail. He's been DJing for a couple of decades now but still seems incapable of locating the right buttons.

And his ability to read seems to be very low too. Can't read out texts properly without pausing....between...every....word...like ...a ..child...in...national....schoool.

Whoever decided he was worth half a million each year should have been chased.

jeremyj1968

NIMAN wrote: »

And his ability to read seems to be very low too. Can't read out texts properly without pausing....between...every....word...like ...a ..child...in...national....schoool.

This drives me crazy as well. And when reads out a headline in that same manner and then just starts sniggering to himself, usually something about how the Wibbly Wobbly Wonder was the most popular ice cream or similar.

Also, I wonder what has happened with Will and his wife? They were initially part of the show and presumably this was the reason that RTE chose to forgo their own production staff and take these two to RTE as well. Both used to contribute to the on air show, but are now rarely heard from (if ever?).

Guy:Incognito

If they don't, can he then sue and get a big payout...............

jeremyj1968

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

If they don't, can he then sue and get a big payout...............

That was certainly the first thing I thought about when this thread was suggested. Like the Valerie Cox nonsense - they didn't renew her contract and still she successfully sued them. I'd say Martina Fitzgerald is probably thinking the same thing, I'm expecting a court case there as well.

Joe_ Public

jeremyj1968 wrote: »

This drives me crazy as well. And when reads out a headline in that same manner and then just starts sniggering to himself, usually something about how the Wibbly Wobbly Wonder was the most popular ice cream or similar.

Also, I wonder what has happened with Will and his wife? They were initially part of the show and presumably this was the reason that RTE chose to forgo their own production staff and take these two to RTE as well. Both used to contribute to the on air show, but are now rarely heard from (if ever?).

As far as I know, and am open to correction on this, both his wife and Will Hanafin were removed from the production side after the bai judgement against him last year (to do with the abortion referendum issue iirc). I don’t mean fired from rte, just reassigned to another slot. I guess as a sort of compromise and to have a more objective input into proceedings.

backspin.

I blame the producers on rte radio. They seem to have decided to make death and disease light entertainment. Not a day goes by without them interviewing someone with a terrible illness. It's so morbid.

Teyla Emmagan

The very sound of his voice brings me out in a rash. He is a painful know it all.

RTE don't have the cojones to cut him loose though, we'll probably be stuck with him forever. Personally I turn the channel as soon as he comes on.

Darcy's inability to press the right buttons in a studio has almost become a joke by now - I just laugh when he does it.

It's his complete lack of empathy with guests and his bizarre ability to make people feel uncomfortable that I find weird.

He could have a woman in talking about her child with a terminal illness (which seems to be their default piece!) and he'd somehow object to something the person has to say and feel the need to challenge them on something.

The fact that he uses his show as a soap box for his curmudgeonly opinions is also irritating.

If he could just facilitate people with telling their stories without getting in the way all the time it would be fine. As it is, he makes for excruciating radio.

Elmo

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

If they don't, can he then sue and get a big payout...............

He’s on contract he’s not an employee.

jeremyj1968

Elmo wrote: »

He’s on contract he’s not an employee.

But you may be making the mistake in thinking that having your staff on contracts gives you the right not to renew that contract.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/rt%C3%A9-ordered-to-pay-50-000-to-former-employee-valerie-cox-1.3435712

mfceiling

ford fiesta wrote: »

Mooney also became "the head of wildlife" in RTE

Good to see the licence money isn't being wasted.

ButtersSuki

If you haven't already watched this, do:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIWm6GnC1xw

For Forks Sake

jeremyj1968 wrote: »

That was certainly the first thing I thought about when this thread was suggested. Like the Valerie Cox nonsense - they didn't renew her contract and still she successfully sued them. I'd say Martina Fitzgerald is probably thinking the same thing, I'm expecting a court case there as well.

She's gotten her payoff :rolleyes: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/martina-fitzgerald-will-leave-rt-after-being-given-substantial-payout-37650792.html

jeremyj1968

For Forks Sake wrote: »

She's gotten her payoff :rolleyes: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/martina-fitzgerald-will-leave-rt-after-being-given-substantial-payout-37650792.html

I was actually just reading the thread on After Hours about Martina Fitzgerald and was about to post again. It really is ridiculous. The contract staff get all the advantages of being a contractor, AND all the advantages of a permanent staff member.

ButtersSuki

For Forks Sake wrote: »

She's gotten her payoff :rolleyes: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/martina-fitzgerald-will-leave-rt-after-being-given-substantial-payout-37650792.html

As I pointed out yesterday on another thread the most astonishing part of this for me was the speed at which this has been put to bed. Normally these cases takes 6-12months and beyond. It appears that all you need to do in RTÉ is say you’ll sue and presto - settlement.

I assume Cox gave the money she got in her settlement to an age-related charity seeing as she took her case because she was so concerned with ageism. :rolleyes:

Joe_ Public

jeremyj1968 wrote: »

I was actually just reading the thread on After Hours about Martina Fitzgerald and was about to post again. It really is ridiculous. The contract staff get all the advantages of being a contractor, AND all the advantages of a permanent staff member.

Are they entitled to a pension plan and other such benefits though? I wouldn’t have thought so. Those contract arrangements are a bit of a minefield for employers it seems to me. Somebody who has spent nearly 20 years working for the same company can’t really be validly described as a freelance/contractor. How would that have gone down before an employment tribunal?

For Forks Sake

ButtersSuki wrote: »

As I pointed out yesterday on another thread the most astonishing part of this for me was the speed at which this has been put to bed. Normally these cases takes 6-12months and beyond. It appears that all you need to do in RTis say you’ll sue and presto - settlement.

I assume Cox gave the money she got in her settlement to an age-related charity seeing as she took her case because she was so concerned with ageism. :rolleyes:

I'm more surprised that they were contracting someone to read out yesterdays news from the papers to be honest.

Del2005

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Are they entitled to a pension plan and other such benefits though? I wouldn’t have thought so. Those contract arrangements are a bit of a minefield for employers it seems to me. Somebody who has spent nearly 20 years working for the same company can’t really be validly described as a freelance/contractor. How would that have gone down before an employment tribunal?

If they are then revenue should be going after them for more taxes, they can't claim to be self employed contractors, with the tax efficiencies, with full employment protection on top.

Joe_ Public

Del2005 wrote: »

If they are then revenue should be going after them for more taxes, they can't claim to be self employed contractors, with the tax efficiencies, with full employment protection on top.

I’m certainly no employment law expert but what you are saying seems pretty much spot on and I have read newspaper reports about revenue crackdowns in this area but have no idea what factual basis there is in that.

There are rules governing how freelance/contract employment works, but how closely are they observed? How can somebody like Martina Fitzgerald be considered anything other than a full time RTÉ employee when that is what she is? The same with Ray D’arcy or Pat Kenny at Newstalk. What percentage of their income comes from work outside of their employer? A tiny one I would imagine.

NIMAN

But RTe don't employ Tubs or Darcy themselves, they contract then via the presenters own companies, who then pay them a wage, and make use of any tax loopholes possible to pay as little tax.

Joe_ Public

Why should they be allowed to set up as independent companies and be employed in that fashion though? What’s to stop any employee in any job to do the same and enjoy the same loopholes? Is it because the likes of tubberdy and Darcy are big stars and earn big salaries? Maybe somebody with knowledge of employment law can explain it. Maybe there’s nothing wrong with it at all.

gamecube

RTE made a good decision bringing Ray D'arcy back cause since he has left Today FM their ratings have taken a nose dive

It has allowed 2fm to overtake them in the Monday-Friday JNLR listenership figures

I know a lot of people here have no love for the guy but his listenership figures on Today FM were about 70,000 higher than what Dermot & Dave have now in the same time slot.

Elmo

gamecube wrote: »

RTE made a good decision bringing Ray D'arcy back cause since he has left Today FM their ratings have taken a nose dive

It has allowed 2fm to overtake them in the Monday-Friday JNLR listenership figures

I know a lot of people here have no love for the guy but his listenership figures on Today FM were about 70,000 higher than what Dermot & Dave have now in the same time slot.

So RTÉ took out Ray D’Arcy to boost 2fm ratings, but at the same time Saturday Night takes a nose dive on TV while he makes no impact on Radio 1???

NIMAN

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Why should they be allowed to set up as independent companies and be employed in that fashion though? What’s to stop any employee in any job to do the same and enjoy the same loopholes? Is it because the likes of tubberdy and Darcy are big stars and earn big salaries? Maybe somebody with knowledge of employment law can explain it. Maybe there’s nothing wrong with it at all.

I think a lot of these 'big stars' do it, probably not that many in Ireland but I remember reading that the UK is fond of it.

Nothing illegal in it at all of course. All well within their rights to do it that way, as companies probably can find ways of avoiding paying taxes more than a simple employee. They may well be able to right off more against expenses.

Joe Duffy afaik is also contracted by RTia his own company, CladdaghGreen Ltd:

https://www.vision-net.ie/Company-Info/Claddaghgreen-Limited-185841

https://www.independent.ie/business/media/joe-duffy-dials-up-458000-in-accumulated-profits-at-his-media-firm-35520174.html

gamecube

Elmo wrote: »

So RTÉ took out Ray D’Arcy to boost 2fm ratings, but at the same time Saturday Night takes a nose dive on TV while he makes no impact on Radio 1???

His ratings are 25,000 more than what Mooney had in the same time slot on Radio 1.

Giving him the Saturday night slot was the only way to bring him back to RTE.

It cannot be a coincidence that Today FM ratings started to downturn after he left & 2fm ratings went only upwards?

Gen.Zhukov

I'm not biting on any of this 'RTE play clever getting RD back' at all.

It's been a disaster for them. He has turned out to be appalling at both the radio and TV shows. The TV show in particular, is frankly embarrassing. It's like something from the early 80's.

If you need further proof just ask where are the sponsors gone? At least at the start RTE managed to recoup some of the profane fees he gets but now it's all coming out of the RTE budget.

Joe_ Public

NIMAN wrote: »

I think a lot of these 'big stars' do it, probably not that many in Ireland but I remember reading that the UK is fond of it.

Nothing illegal in it at all of course. All well within their rights to do it that way, as companies probably can find ways of avoiding paying taxes more than a simple employee. They may well be able to right off more against expenses.

Joe Duffy afaik is also contracted by RTia his own company, CladdaghGreen Ltd:

https://www.vision-net.ie/Company-Info/Claddaghgreen-Limited-185841

https://www.independent.ie/business/media/joe-duffy-dials-up-458000-in-accumulated-profits-at-his-media-firm-35520174.html

I believe there are EU regulations concerning the area of contract work but how they work in practice I’ve no idea. It might not be in any way illegal the way things work, but is it ethical? That’s the question I’d be asking.

It obviously suits both employer (doesn’t have to worry about benefits) and employee (gains from tax loopholes), but then I’d wonder why don’t more companies set up this way? Why don’t google/amazon etc make all their employees contractors? I don’t see what would be stopping them if RTÉ can do it. Or is it something more exclusive to the entertainment industry and others like it?

dxhound2005

Gen.Zhukov wrote: »

I'm not biting on any of this 'RTE play clever getting RD back' at all.

It's been a disaster for them. He has turned out to be appalling at both the radio and TV shows. The TV show in particular, is frankly embarrassing. It's like something from the early 80's.

If you need further proof just ask where are the sponsors gone? At least at the start RTE managed to recoup some of the profane fees he gets but now it's all coming out of the RTE budget.

You may not have read on this page that the radio audience increased by 25,000. How is that a disaster? The people on the forums certainly think he is appalling, but not appalling enough to switch off apparently.

They know every mispronunciation and every wrong button press. And how many minutes the Nuacht is late. A few dozen very dedicated and discerning listeners, but perhaps less forgiving than the general public who don't feel the need to join the internet discussions.

Ally Dick

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Are they entitled to a pension plan and other such benefits though? I wouldn’t have thought so. Those contract arrangements are a bit of a minefield for employers it seems to me. Somebody who has spent nearly 20 years working for the same company can’t really be validly described as a freelance/contractor. How would that have gone down before an employment tribunal?

As self employed people or proprietary directors of limited companies, they can put a load of their very generous money into pension plans, tax free!

Gen.Zhukov

dxhound2005 wrote: »

You may not have read on this page that the radio audience increased by 25,000. How is that a disaster?

I don't believe or trust the figures. Seems the sponsors don't either.

dxhound2005

Gen.Zhukov wrote: »

I don't believe or trust the figures. Seems the sponsors don't either.

Quite common around these parts. In which circumstance I always ask for the real figures, if you have them.

Does RTE have sponsored programmes?

Gen.Zhukov

dxhound2005 wrote: »

Quite common around these parts. In which circumstance I always ask for the real figures, if you have them.

Does RTE have sponsored programmes?

Of course I don't have figures, but you knew that and were just being your usual self-righteous self. If you're naive enough to believe any set of figures thrown out there, then that's fine.

"Does RTE have sponsored programmes?"- Wow!

I won't be engaging with you any further.

Jesus, I hope my spelling, grammar and punctuation are okay or I'm fcuked

zephyro

Joe_ Public wrote: »

I believe there are EU regulations concerning the area of contract work but how they work in practice I’ve no idea. It might not be in any way illegal the way things work, but is it ethical? That’s the question I’d be asking.

It obviously suits both employer (doesn’t have to worry about benefits) and employee (gains from tax loopholes), but then I’d wonder why don’t more companies set up this way? Why don’t google/amazon etc make all their employees contractors? I don’t see what would be stopping them if RTÉ can do it. Or is it something more exclusive to the entertainment industry and others like it?

These are the Revenue criteria but they're not enforced, so they're missing out on a good chunk of employers PRSI and lost tax from increased pension contributions as many IT and pharma companies especially do exactly what you suggest and engage large numbers of "contractors" that are effectively employees.

nc6000

jeremyj1968 wrote: »

Also, I wonder what has happened with Will and his wife? They were initially part of the show and presumably this was the reason that RTE chose to forgo their own production staff and take these two to RTE as well. Both used to contribute to the on air show, but are now rarely heard from (if ever?).

The less anyone hears from Will the better. Towards the end of their time on Today FM he thought it was a great idea to give out loads of TV spoilers about how various TV shows ended etc. It didn't go down very well. :mad:

gamecube

If Ray D'Arcy did leave RTE I think Today FM would have him back again in a heartbeat.

byte

gamecube wrote: »

If Ray D'Arcy did leave RTE I think Today FM would have him back again in a heartbeat.

I don't think he left Today FM in particularly amicable terms so I really doubt it.