Following lengthy engagement between my Department, RTÉ, and the National Concert Hall to ensure a seamless transfer, the Government agreed to the transfer of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) and Choirs from RTÉ to the National Concert Hall with effect from 24 January 2022. To support this transfer, additional funding of €8 million was provided under Budget 2022 to the National Concert Hall to meet the running costs of the NSO. This funding was used to meet various costs including pay, training, travel costs etc. as well as supporting programmatic expenditure such as marketing and production costs.
With regard to RTÉ, it is important to note that subsequent to the publication of the Boaden Report, RTÉ published a Revised Strategy 2020-2024 in 2019, which presented a roadmap to return the organisation to financial stability and which provided for the transfer of the NSO to the NCH. Since 2021 RTÉ’s annual budgeting has been informed by Government’s decision to proceed with the transfer, and as such costs associated with the NSO have been excluded from RTÉ’s budgets. RTÉ is funded from a mix of TV licence revenues and commercial income, and no specific allocation was previously made to RTÉ in respect of the NSO. Given the independence granted to RTÉ under the provisions of the Broadcasting Act 2009, as Minister I have no role in day to day operational and management affairs, including annual budgeting.
