Vol. 408 No. 4
11 Mr. T. O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications the action he proposes to take to maintain broadcasting services in RTE and prevent further job losses in view of (a) an expected loss of £12 million to be incurred in the current financial year and (b) the offer of voluntary severance recently issued to staff members aged 58 and over; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Under the Broadcasting Authority Acts it is a matter for the RTE Authority to deploy to the best effect the resources available to them. It would be inappropriate for me to intervene in day-to-day matters. I have every confidence in RTE's ability to maintain their high standard of service. I understand that they are currently predicting a modest surplus for the present financial year rather than the loss predicted by the Deputy. I will, of course, be keeping RTE's general performance under review.
The Minister chose to ignore the second part of my question. The Minister's reluctance to intervene is not without precedent. When the question of An Post arose first he refused on that occasion and now we are told he is deeply involved in it. I suggest that as a result of the measures introduced in the Broadcasting Bill by his predecessor, RTE are now under further threat. We have among the commercial radio stations a growing lobby to shed the news content——
Deputy O'Sullivan, I want to help you to elicit information but you may not embark upon a statement.
I think it is necessary. The Minister has evaded the question——
Questions, please, relevant questions.
——I put to him and I feel it is necessary for me to try to elicit from the Minister the information I sought.
RTE have been involved since 1985 to the present day in a rolling programme of voluntary redundancies and I understand that about 140 or 150 have taken up that scheme between 1985 and the end of 1989. That process is continuing. One has also to be aware that on the other side of the coin some hundreds of new jobs are created in the new commercial radio services throughout the country.
And hundreds of jobs were lost in the contract end of it.
I feel that these jobs which have been provided in the private sector cannot in any way match the jobs in RTE that were lost as a result of the Minister's predecessor's infamous legislation. What the Minister effectively is doing and what RTE are now forced to do as a result of Government policy is to reduce the retiring age to 58. This must be discouraged.
Ceisteanna, le do thoil.
All I can say is what I have said publicly on many occasions, that this is new legislation and like any new legislation it has to be kept under constant review, which I am doing on a regular basis at the moment.
