27-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
RTÉ makes €2.4m in Covid-19 wage subsidy repayments after review
The national broadcaster last year undertook a review of its eligibility for the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) from March to September 2020, as a result repaid the subsidy for the periods of July to August of that year.
This repayment, together with the PRSI that would have been due had the subsidy not been claimed, amounted to €2.4m. This repayment as well as interest and penalties, resulted in RTÉ paying a total of €2.7m to Revenue.
A further revenue audit last year resulted in repayments of €1m by the national broadcaster.
The Director General, Kevin Bakhurst, revealed the information in a submission to the Oireachtas Communications Committee as 'a reflection of the higher standards of transparency' in the organisation.
Mr Bakhurst, as well as the chair of the RTÉ board, Terence O'Rourke and eight senior managers are to appear before the Committee tomorrow.
They will be asked about the €3.6m lost on a partly-failed IT system which was one of the capital projects funded from the sale of land at its Dublin 4 site in 2017.
Mr Bakhurst will tell TDs and Senators it's 'extremely regrettable' to have to write down such significant amounts of money when dealing with public funds.
He will also say that the issue is being taken 'very seriously' and the broadcaster has spent 'considerable time looking into the details of the project and the process.'
The committee will hear that the majority of the money lost relates to efforts to deliver the HR part of the project amounting to €2.3m, with the remaining €1.3m related to 'the delay and effort in delivering the financial element of the project.'
Mr Bakhurst will say the impairment 'is very much an exception' in the context of extensive projects delivered by RTÉ and that it was 'correctly notified to NewEra.'
