Dee Forbes banging the RTE TV licence drum again 60m uncollected fee *poll not working - pl ignore*

O'Keeffe was part a redundancy package, that ended up not being a redundancy package and had the potential to be taxed, but we don't know if it ever was… or did we find out … we know RTÉ said they would pay the tax if it should be taxable (not really sure why? they even gave this guarantee).

But O'Keefe would be liable for tax on 200k, either in the year for the payment or in the year she receive the payment.

e.g. O'Keefee leaves in 2017 she owes tax from 2017 not this year, RTÉ pay for 2017 not for 2023, meaning that is a 2017 earning not a 2023 earning, so BoK would owe tax on what she earn in total in 2017.

Sure you employer could always pay your tax in the second year of employment so that you can evade tax in the previous year.

Revenue operate off the 'Payment Date'. If Kevin paid O'Keeffe 200k to pay her 100k tax liability in 2024, then the 200k would (should) be in taxed using 2024 tax rates.

But we Peons get a nice €750 tax break so, you know, it all breaks even in the end…

I seem to recall that Jim Jennings was quoted (many times) as saying that he really wanted to come in to the committees and help out, answer questions, giving his side - with the implication being that unlike Forbesy, he really was ill.

Seems like that was a load of horse after all and he gets off scott free (with added wedge thrown in)

I've said it before - If this ***t happened in France, Montrosia would be a smouldering wasteland

Yeah I am sick of illness.

I can't see that Mr. Jennings was sick, yes he had the excuse that he had a minor operation before he went out sick, but prior to that he'd headed off to some soccer match paid for by RTÉ.

As for Dee, I have heard she is really sick but its been a year at this point.

largest employers? are you insane..its a mickey mouse outfit with about 1800 people in 2022 that's taking this country for a ride. I'm all for public service but RTe should be cut to the absolute bone and funded for public service programs ie news/primetime. Everything else should be raised by advertising or streaming…if they don't last then tough ****. Give the public service fund to another station.

The problem you have is that you reduce Irish programming outside of news and current affairs, not that RTÉ have ever done well in other areas, but you'd be guaranteed that no local drama will be produced, lots of FDI followed by one or two Irish Drama's per year.

I have said before RTÉ should be broken up

RTÉ TV - Rebranded as FÍS (coming under Screen Ireland)

• FÍS 1 - takes the place of RTÉ 1
• FÍS 2 - takes the place of RTÉ 2
• FÍS ÓR - An archive / catch up channel
• FÍS Play - RTÉ PLAYER
• Funding Exchequer and ad revenue
• Commission all independent productions

RTÉ RADIO - Rebranded as 2RN

• National Media Centre / Radio and TV studios
• National broadcast network
• 2RN - RTÉ Radio 1
• 2FM
• 2ÓR - RTÉ GOLD
• 2XM
• 2PL - RTÉ Pulse
• 2ND - RTÉ RADIO PLAYER
• Funding from exchequer and ad revenue and studio / network rentals

TG4 & RnaG - RTnaGLS (National Irish, Children and Film broadcaster)

• TG4
• RnaG
• RnaL - replaces RTÉjr Radio (irish and english content)
• 4jr - takes over from RTÉjr (English Children's channel)
• 4Eile - archives and catch up channel
• Cula4
• Cine4 (Film Channel)
• SRUTH4 - streaming and podcasting service
• Funding from exchequer and ad revenue
• Commission all independent productions

NCH - National Concert Hall

• Lyric FM
• Concert Orchestra
• Funding from exchequer and ad revenue and ticket sales

RTÉ NEWS and Current Affairs - becomes Media News / Mean Nuacht

• Provides all news to the above organisations
• MN News - Takes over from RTÉ NEWS CHANNEL
• MN Radio - replaces RTÉ Radio 1 extra
• News provided online also with its own player
• Funded from the license fee, reduce license fee to €60 per year

You could make FÍS and 2RN full commercial save for news from Media News, but you'd have to insist that all their ad revenue is used for commissions and home produced programming.

Where does that leave sport?

I'd reduce down the head count under my plan and only RTÉ commissioning editors would move to Screen Ireland, none of their executive, e.g. the new head of Video content can be sent to the archives to digitize video for all I care.

I would need to double check, but buried in their recent annual report they hired a new head of equality or some such title. This should just be a standard part of HR's remit.

Large companies hold their senior execs to account for those big bucks. Don't see that happening at RTE.

Did the main man consider that those he has "exited" were grossly incompetent and did he get advice on that? I doubt he did? Instead he asked what would it cost to go to the WRC v just paying them off.

Mr Bakhurst hasn't proven himself. He was in RTÉ a Deputy Director General 8 years ago. Many of the people he "exited" are people he worked with, back then he brought nothing new to the table, did they change during his 8 year absence? He agree to cut children's content by 25%, later Dee Frobes would cut again by 50% (reducing spend on Children's content, part of the public service remit they have). He was part of the team that agree to fund 2fm from the licence fee after the death of Gerry Ryan. (And what he said about the move of Tubs from 2FM to Radio 1 was the stupidest thing I have ever heard).

He agreed to pay Breda O'Keefe's tax bill should the revenue deem her redundancy not the be a redundancy, RTÉ took responsibly for a mistake she potential made in her role as CFO. Now in saying this I think he could offer this because I don't think the Revenue has investigated this, so I don't think anyone is liable for this tax, as Revenue aren't interested.

Did he not notice that RTÉ's faculties were falling down around him 8 years ago, do you think lack of maintained just occurred under the watch of Dee Forbes?

There are plenty of more competent people in Ireland that could do this job, again I am not saying for less money.

And finally Bob, do you work for RTÉ or have you ever?

Thanks Bob, I don't understand your defence of RTÉ TBH. And don't take this an attack on you, its purely some ramblings that I am jotting down.

Many years ago I was a much more prolific users of boards.ie, I'd mainly posted in Broadcasting, Film, TV and the odd occasion Politics and after hours. 4 years ago I made a decision to drop that user, as I felt Boards had become massively political and a place were you could not have an opinion on certain topics, so I created this user name and I large stick to Broadcasting and this thread and a few other related to broadcasting. Those are the rules I have set myself, because I agree with you you can be sucked into social media and I have limited my time to weekdays, I am breaking that rule. To me these are sensible rules for me as a user of boards.ie.

This is going be long :)

Over on another part of boards I post but rarely, and less than I used to, that is due to a mod that seems to think you cannot make a bad comment about anyone in RTÉ because they aren't here to defend themselves, IMO RTÉ get plenty of airtime to defend themselves, I almost always mention the mismanagement of RTÉ because of this, though talk about VMTV/TV3 how you like, as much as you like. Watch me be banned from there!

As my other username I defended RTÉ to the hilt, and right now I could defend RTÉ if anyone asking me to, I could do it far better than most in RTÉ. (Obviously outside of this crisis, its indefensible).

For example the only thing I'd mention on RTÉ august holiday before would be "well it used to be from June to August" and prime time was drop completely in August, now it gets a Thursday night edition, this is not to mention the axing of all other CA programmes over the summer.

But there are plenty of things that RTÉ do well and if they had the right management the could have even done those things better and with other genres, instead they have close to 50 employees working on Marketing and Comms, along with numerous contractors, along with spending in areas where there is no need.

Do I believe that Bakhurst will do a good job? No. I am happy to give him the benefit of the doubt but at what point does that benefit stop? Dee Forbes had a honeymoon period right up until her resignation, nobody was talking about their misspending of the funding (I wrote to RTÉ, I wrote to every TD, I wrote to the FOMC, the BAI and so on, I FOI'd them on their executives expenses long before anyone was talking about them). RTÉ was in a heap 7 years ago and nothing changed you could see it, the dogs on the street could see it.

You have visited RTÉ, I assume when on TV. There is only one building being maintained and that is the executive offices at the centre of the campus, the rest as you walk around are mess.

The lobby of the Radio Centre was supposed to be open and minimalist, now it is as if your father went to the dump found old sofas and threw them around the space, and sure stick up a few old logos and here's a 1990s reception desk, there is probably still a FAX machine sitting behind it (plugged out and not in use).

Over in the TV building stacked RTÉ Guides with no where to go, a rug that clearly needs mending and a wash, potentially to be removed and replaced. Over the years corridors closed off with ugly fire doors and a wardrobe department draping their cast offs around the windows to provide some privacy. Meanwhile TV studios not in use sitting there ready to go.

So bad in the Radio centre they decided that the "video" studios would be built in the new-ish TV building, rather than investing in maintaining the Radio Centre. Venetian blinds broken and lopsided.

A general malaise had set in, and visually on their stations RTÉ ONE stuck in 2008, RTÉ2 rebranded with nowhere to go but sport, RTÉ Player continually getting bad reviews, disjointed programming, disjointed scheduling, little new or inventive, a digital TV station they have no interesting in (RTÉ NEWS NOW), digital radio stations they want to see the back of and never invested in, a Radio player forgotten about, with the old logo of the RTÉ player branding for about 3 years before someone though of removing it, a cork studio also badly maintained, dropping of all local office to be hosted by the ITs for what benefit to the ITs? and I could go on.

Well my elderly father has a soft spot for Sharon Ni Bheolain .

Now Iam wondering what he means when saying is Sharon doing a line.

have you listened to Liveline, Ray Darcy show?

Both of those are at the level of Community Radio, with the 2 presenters drawing 600k between them, and production and researchers on top

I think if people just stop paying the license and when the first person is brought to court for non payment I would go full media circus on them and simply say that why should we pay a license for an organization who have committed fraud and the vast majority of these people are allowed walk away without answering questions and with a huge golden handshakes. I would take the piss and get a doctors note stating I cant answer any questions due to illness and see if this person can get away with it for as long as Jennings and Forbes did. I can see this happening there will be a queue of people looking to ask the court why the gov are wasting time and money on 100/200 Euro fee when RTE have defrauded the tax payer of millions and no one held accountable and RTE want us to continue paying or just stating I will answer all questions after Miss Forbesand Mr Jennings have had answered theirs. I would love to see all other media outlets and online media covering this it would be a real kick in the teeth for RTE who simply have no right to continue getting tax payers money the day and age of an impartial media here is gone as soon as there is any commercial aspect it directly conflicts with what public sector broadcasting should be as once money is involved there is a bias towards getting more and it is obvious we need to have a new public media out let and let RTE hit the skids and have nothing else for public broadcasting bar one TV channel and one radio station that only shows things like news, Irish sport (with things like our national game being broadcast for free here I think the GAA should have all government money taken away if they refuse to do this) and other social/political and ethical issues that Ireland is dealing with looked at on a non biased basis and no adds so we know how much it costs who is getting what and no barter accounts. This is my 2 cents.

Why has RTÉ not announced its line-up of programmes for this Autumn?

mass evasion of the licence fee will achieve nothing; the government will just cover the shortfall

Their 2022 launch was a blast though - I think they all wore gold plated flip-flops and snorted finely ground truffles infused with caviar and icing sugar - All flown in by helicopter as Ryan logged every move on instagram, as he quipped, "I'm 'hahaha' just 'hahaha' fantastic"

They were good times

https://about.rte.ie/2024/08/30/rte-launches-new-season-of-unique-public-service-content-featuring-real-irish-stories-and-celebrating-irelands-landscape-culture-and-creativity/ "Unique Public Service Content" they are such **** saps.

To me its all the same, depression dressed as entertainment and that not just the documentaries.

Factual

On the Beat - Fly on the wall doc about the Gardaí, in a never been done before doc that's been done before

The Case I Can’t Forget - Returns for another series

Blindboy: The Land of Slaves - because he doesn't want to be famous!

Anorexia, My Family and Me - Angie Scanlon needs a series and sure poor poor her, its not like we could find an ordinary person do do this doc on.

Addicts - How addiction works, with Prof Brian Pennie a former addict - This project is co-funded by Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland (formerly Science Foundation Ireland) - another PSA from an Irish Public body.

Noraid: Irish-America and the IRA, Vótáil and Scannal.

Leathered - a doc about corporal punishment - is this not enough of a bore

Lost for Words - my own doc about life with dyslexia as I lock my full potential here on boards.ie

Ben Dunne and Michael Smurfit get docs of their own.

GAA docs include The Game, Hell for Leather and Réiteoir.

And I will let you all read the rest !

No. Feck all people not old enough for the free TV licence will be watching anyway.

Addicts - How addiction works, with Prof Brian Pennie a former addict - This project is co-funded by Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland (formerly Science Foundation Ireland) - another PSA from an Irish Public body.

RTE is at the forefront in the fight against telly addiction.

That was my thinking on it. Are there people out there who are waiting on RTE to announce their Autumn schedule?

Just read the link that @RoTelly posted for the "new Season" on RTE, I think the only thing on for me would Irelands Fittest Family. The Late Late Show is back and reading the bit on it " Patrick Kielty brings his own unique style to Friday nights on The Late Late Show, joined by the biggest names in entertainment, music, comedy and sport. After a cracking first season, Patrick is more ambitious than ever, with plenty of specials and surprises in store." The biggest names in Entertainment, music, comedy and sport are they having a laugh, it will the usual people hanging around the RTE canteen with possibly a few of the medal winners from the olympics.

I bet it will be the same celebrities who will be appearing on the new show " To Hell & Back with Ray Goggins, adventurer and former special forces soldier Ray Goggins takes A-list Irish celebrities on extreme outdoor adventures in some of the most inhospitable, hostile environments on the planet."

I can see why they are not making a big deal of this launch.

They will cover the shortfall and it will show the government that the license fee payer is not happy with RTÉ.

Seemingly the intention is to move to full exchequer funding within five years anyway so that mass evasion you envisage would just be a temporary anomaly if it even materialises which I'm skeptical about

after five years RTÉ will be fully funded directly by the taxpayer.

I haven't seen this confirmed anywhere but Lee is a pretty respected reporter so until I see it directly contradicted somewhere I'm assuming it's the plan

They are down 100,000 license fees since 2022.

Again best to do it now when the license fee still exists.

Lee is spouting the same mantra as before from the quotes given.

Details of the new funding plan come as the former chair of the RTÉ board, Siún Ní Raghallaigh, expressed frustration yesterday at the "political inertia" over financing the national broadcaster.

I like'd Siún but what about the inertia in RTÉ? Do you think that RTÉ is this unique public service broadcast that it should continue as is as if nothing happened.

"The frequent political mantra is that the funding model must not jeopardise the independence of our public service media, the funding issue is firmly in the control of the political system... There is no certainty about the level of funding, no stability - exactly what is to be avoided, according to government"

She knows as former Chair of TG4, their exchequre funding was cut by the government from 2011 to 2018, that funding gap was replace by some of the Licence fee (something many seem to forget).

3 QUESTIONS

1. How was the government of the day legal able to divert funding from the license fee to TG4?
2. Why was this never spoken about?
3. And if exchequer funding can be maintained, what happens in a downturn, its not just about political interference.

The Two Johnnies have a second series on RTÉ 2 - why do so many viewers still watch them?