The government says that the RTÉ scandal will be cleaned up through proper ‘corporate governance’. But the ethos of corporate Ireland helped cause the scandal. The parallels are ominous.
Overpaid Executives: RTÉ has revealed that 100 top staff earned between €515,000 to €116,851 a year. But 69 of these were management and 31 were celebrity broadcasters. Obscene salaries for those at the top are the norm throughout the Irish private sector. Think only of how bankers demand more money for their ‘performance’.
Barter accounts: These are sweeteners to ease the wheel of commercial transactions. RTÉ paid these to companies like Renault to get their advertising. But Finance Minister, Michael McGrath, who is a former accountant, says ‘they are a normal part of commercial life’.
Pay Cuts: Dee Forbes wrote a letter to Ryan Tubridy, assuring him that he would not receive a pay cut. But the Irish capitalists who call for pay cuts for workers often ‘look after their own’ to make sure they are personally not affected.
RTÉ receives €100 million from advertisers and €200 million from the license fee. Its executive behaves like bosses everywhere and treats staff disgracefully. While they pay themselves and their ‘stars’ super-salaries, they treat ordinary workers disgracefully.
It is time to end this corporate culture at RTÉ. We need a fully funded public sector broadcaster that is paid for by a digital tax on social media companies.
