RTÉ may lose some of its most popular presenters as a result of a 30 per cent cut in their wages but they will be replaced by new talent, its director-general Noel Curran has said.
Speaking in Dublin City University tonight, Mr Curran said RTÉ had made many mistakes in the past including paying their top presenters too much money and the broadcaster had been too conservative and lacking in transparency.
He maintained the organisation had to become smaller, more open to change and leaner in the coming years.
Announcing a new vision for it as a public service broadcaster, Mr Curran said RTÉ will be 300 people smaller than it was in 2008 and priorities had to be made.
He outlined six areas which will be the focus of RTÉ's attention in the coming years: investigative journalism, arts and culture, innovation, including science and technology, children and young people, 24 hour news on demand and major national events which includes major sports events.
During a lecture about the media and the public, Mr Curran said budget cuts mean that service levels will be impacted and most likely reduced. RTÉ is projecting a loss of a loss of €17 million this year following changes in last December's budget and a downturn in advertising revenues.
It is seeking to break even by 2013 and has announced at least 75 redundancies with more than 230 employees applying for redundancy.
Mr Curran said all the top-talent fees will be reduced by 30 per cent within two years.
"We may during this process of renegotiation lose some of our most talented and loved presenters to our competitors. That would be very regrettable, but if some choose to leave, we will adjust, find new voices and new ways to deliver services and programmes," he said.
RTÉ has reduced its costs by 18 per cent in the last two years, the BBC by 4 per cent and Channel Four by 4 per cent, he revealed according to a report by PriceWaterhouseCooper which will be published this week. The report said said RTÉ has added €472 million to the Irish economy.
Despite that, he said that RTÉ was from the being the largest media company operating in Ireland, RTÉ had to compete with Sky, the venture capital company Doughty Hanson that owns TV3, the Independent Group, Communicorp, the owners of Today FM and Newstalk, and UTV who were all bigger in size than RTÉ.
"So to those who say that RTÉ is too big, too dominant or too controlling in this market, I would say pause for a moment, take a step back and see the real elephant barging its way into our living rooms" he said.
Mr Curran also “publicly and unreservedly” apologised to Fr Kevin Reynolds for the recent libel in which the priest was falsely accused of raping a minor and having a child by her while working as a missionary in Kenya.
“RTÉ must always be open and honest when we do get it wrong. We must learn what we can from such mistakes and make changes if necessary - and we will. That is part of being accountable and essential to public trust and public support,” he said.
However, as a former Prime Time editor himself, Mr Curran cautioned against RTÉ losing its nerve in terms of investigative journalism which he described as "incredibly risky, contentious, and difficult".
