Senator Sarah O’Reilly has welcomed plans by Minister Patrick O’Donovan to bring RTÉ under the oversight of the Comptroller and Auditor General, saying there must be far greater transparency around how public money is spent.
Senator O’Reilly said the public is entitled to full scrutiny of RTÉ finances, particularly following years of controversy surrounding spending and governance within the national broadcaster.
“Over 207 people in RTÉ were earning more than €100,000 at the end of 2025, while RTÉ declined to disclose the salaries of a number of individuals earning between €225,000 and €300,000. That is simply not good enough when taxpayers are funding the organisation.”
“As public representatives, we are required to fully account for our spending and rightly so. The same standard should apply to RTÉ. People deserve to know where their money is going. The public service and civil service have published salary scales for years. Transparency is normal when public money is involved.”
The Senator said moving from private auditing arrangements to oversight by the Comptroller and Auditor General is a necessary step following repeated scandals within RTÉ.
“RTÉ received a €725 million bailout after years of controversies involving slush funds, flip flops and wasteful spending. Taxpayers should never be expected to endlessly foot the bill without proper oversight and accountability.”
Senator O’Reilly also criticised proposals to increase the broadcasting levy on smaller local radio stations.
“Many local stations are operating on shoestring budgets while providing strong local debate, news and community broadcasting. Yet they are facing levy increases of up to 39%, while RTÉ continues to receive massive State support.”
“A national broadcaster is important, but we have to ask whether RTÉ in its current form represents value for money. We constantly hear arguments about paying huge salaries to attract talent, yet programmes like the The Late Late Show are losing viewers while salaries continue to rise. It’s a stale format and we never see guests with views outside the accepted RTÉ clique.”
“If someone in sales lost major clients, they would not expect a pay rise as a reward. Public money cannot be treated like participation ribbons. Accountability and performance have to matter.”
