Catherine Martin, the Media Minister, has affirmed that no final decision has been reached regarding future funding methods for RTÉ, notwithstanding the inclination of the Finance Minister Jack Chambers and the Minister of Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe toward a licence-based scheme.
Ms Martin remains a proponent of directly funding public service broadcasting from government coffers and maintains that she persists in advocating this model ahead of the final verdict anticipated later this month by the Government.
Speaking at a gathering for the Irish Olympic team at the Sports Ireland Campus in Abbotstown, the Minister from the Green Party declared that she had fruitfully engaged in discussions on Monday about a long-term sustainable funding scheme for the broadcasting service with the tripartite leadership of the Coalition – Mr Harris, Micheál Martin, and Eamon Ryan. She disclosed that the upcoming step in the process would involve a dialogue between these three heads and the Finance Minister Jack Chambers, along with Paschal Donohoe, the Minister for Public Expenditure.
Ms Martin expressed her steadfast faith in finalising the decision before the Cabinet adjourns this month. While questioned about the rationale for contemplating an altered license agreement even when the Future of Media Commission and the Oireachtas Committee on Media had endorsed direct funding, she reported that RTÉ unions shared a similar perspective.
Ms Martin also commented on a technical working group that explored possible reforms for the TV licence, agreeing that the result of their research had not been disclosed or presented to the Cabinet. She did, however, affirm that the final decision would likely fall between a licence model designed to generate revenue or outright funding from the government.
Regarding potential outsourcing of key programmes such as The Late Late Show and Fair City, Ms Martin mentioned having met with Kevin Bakhurst and Terence O’Rourke, leading figures at RTÉ, to underline the necessity for sustained interaction with staff and unions. She dismissed any concerns about privatising any of RTÉ’s public service duties.