RTÉ recorded a surplus after tax of €22.5 million last year, which was up from €5.5m in 2024. RTÉ said it had saved money by postponing some projects until this year. More than 300 people applied for a voluntary redundancy scheme at Montrose last year but only 67 were made redundant with the broadcaster eventually spending €8.5m on exit packages.
RTÉ is now in its second year of a three-year extra funding plan agreed by the Government. The report also shows the number of staff at RTÉ earning €230,000 or more increased upwards of threefold from three to 10. There was an increase in consultancy costs at the broadcaster, from €2.1m in 2024 to €4.2m last year.
The broadcaster said it spent €4.1m in restructuring costs. Under reforms it committed to in the wake of the payments controversy, RTÉ gave an assurance that it would reduce its workforce by up to 400 people between 2025 and 2030. More than 300 people applied for the first round of RTÉ’s redundancy package in 2025 but only 67 were let go.
RTÉ’s commercial revenue was €158.6m in 2025, up slightly from €158.1m in 2024. The annual report said the advertising market in Ireland “remained challenging”
The exit costs for the 67 voluntary redundancies amounted to €8.5m, which works out at an average of €127,000. Another 30 roles were “suppressed”. RTÉ expects to save €8.4m annually through what it described as 97 “departures”. RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst (pictured) said RTÉ will apply later this year to run a second voluntary exit scheme.
RTÉ had set aside €16.5m at the end of last year to cover the cost of an investigation relating to so-called “bogus self-employment”. It relates to workers who were wrongly classified as contractors, and so missed out on benefits that should have been offered to them as staff. RTÉ paid €3.6m to the Government last year in relation to the controversy.
Approval
In the wake of the payments scandal, RTÉ promised to cap salaries so nobody would earn more than the DG. Any salaries and contracts for new presenters earning more than €100,000 also have to go through an extra approval process. The annual report shows RTÉ’s senior management now dominate the list of its highest paid staff.
Nine out of 10 of its highest paid staff are now management executives, with Claire Byrne, who left to rejoin Newstalk, the only on-air presenter in the top 10 highest earners. Bakhurst was the highest-paid person in RTÉ last year, earning €339,538, which included €62,500 in pension payments and €25,000 in allowances.
Adrian Lynch, deputy director general and director of audiences, channel and marketing, was next in line on €293,627. Chief technical officer Richard Waghorn was paid €291,160; Deirdre McCarthy, director of news and current affairs, €285,063; and Claire Byrne, who no longer works as a presenter in Montrose, on €280,000.
Mari Hurley, chief financial officer, who has left RTÉ, was on €276,344; Steve Carson, director of video, €276, 282; Eimear Cusack, HR director, no longer at RTÉ, €274,721; Gavin Deans (above), director of commercial, was on a salary of €269,055 and Patricia Monahan, who joined RTE from Newstalk as director of audio, was paid the same as Deans.
RTÉ’s total public funding was €224.8m, which included €183.5m in licence fee funding and €41.3m in additional Government support. There has been almost a 20 per cent decline in TV licence fee sales since 2022. While there was a three per cent drop in TV licences sold, the deficit was effectively offset by the State.
