Latest news with #Peter'Chap'Cleere
Irish Examiner
28-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
RTÉ ad featuring paid extras costs €77,000 as staff criticise newsroom 'props'
An ad promoting RTÉ's news output, which will feature paid extras, has cost €77,000 to date, with a total budget of €100,000, TDs and senators have been told. Filming has taken place in recent weeks for a promotional film which outlines a day in the life of three high-profile reporters, but has prompted some backlash from staff for its use of extras in the newsroom and what have been described as "props". On Wednesday, the broadcaster's senior management and chair appeared before the Oireachtas media committee to discuss several issues, including a €3.6m write-down on an ICT project that was partially abandoned. However, much focus was placed on the advert, on which staff have asked management to stop working. Asked by Carlow-Kilkenny TD Peter 'Chap' Cleere about the ad, RTÉ director-general Kevin Bakhurst said he was 'delighted' to address the question. He said much of the commentary surrounding the advertisement was incorrect and this had 'infuriated' him. 'There were two plants. Even when you are filming news interviews there will be people who wear make-up, they have lighting, you might have plants so that the shot looks better.' Mr Bakhurst said 'proper conversations' had taken place between the organisation's marketing and editorial teams. 'The initial request was, can some journalists from the newsroom sit in the background — they would be blurred out — while we are filming this for several hours and the answer was 'no our journalists are too busy',' he said. Mr Bakhurst later rejected a claim from committee chair Alan Kelly it was 'bananas' for RTÉ to use an outside company to film an ad for itself. He said while there was an in-house production team, the 'standard practice' was to use external expertise for such projects. Mr Bakhurst said a recent staff survey showed morale in RTÉ was high in some areas but 'needs work' in others. He denied claims staff morale was 'at an all-time low.' "I've always had, since I started, an open-door policy. Anyone can come and see me, and they've taken me up on that. I go around and see teams. There are ongoing challenges for the organisation, and there is a legacy of, I would say, a lack of trust of senior management, a gap between senior management and the organisation, and a high level of anger about what happened during the crisis." Later in the session, RTÉ's director general said he 'cannot promise' there are no further financial scandals at the broadcaster. However, Mr Bakhurst told the committee he was not currently aware of any. Asked by Cork North-Central TD Pádraig O'Sullivan whether Ryan Tubridy had repaid the €150,000 in payments that sparked the scandal surrounding the broadcaster's accounts nearly two years ago, Mr Bakhurst said he had not. He added he would like Mr Tubridy to repay the money but said RTÉ did not have the legal recourse to force him to do so. In a separate exchange, Independent senator Rónán Mullen asked whether Mr Bakhurst would question staff on their personal views on social issues, suggesting a 'silent majority' may feel underrepresented. Mr Bakhurst responded such a move would be 'North Korean', and said he would not interrogate staff on their beliefs. Read More Arts Council director Maureen Kennelly to step down at end of term
The Herald Scotland
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Kevin Bakhurst said he was ‘infuriated' by reaction to RTE newsroom promo
'A significant amount of the press coverage has been totally inaccurate about it,' he told TDs and Senators at committee. When asked about props used during the filming by Fianna Fail TD Peter 'Chap' Cleere, Mr Bakhurst said that two plants were moved from elsewhere in RTE to cover up electrical points during filming before being put back. 'Even when you're filming news interviews, sometimes people wear makeup, they have lighting, you might move a plant so the shot looks better and I would expect that of our highly professional promotions team.' He added: 'There's been some coverage about, you know, extras being brought in. 'The proper conversations were had about this between our marketing team, who were doing this, and the news management team about how we were going to do it. 'The initial request was, can some journalists from the newsroom sit in the background – they're going to be blurred out – can they sit in the background while we're filming this for several hours and the answer was 'No our journalists are too busy'.' He also said that RTE had 'just spent 50,000 euro doing up parts of the newsroom'. Senior RTE figures appeared before the Oireachtas media committee on Wednesday for the first time since the new Dail was formed. In 2023 the broadcaster was sharply criticised over a series of governance and financial scandals which further fuelled a years-long trend in declining TV licence revenue. The Government agreed a 725 million-euro financing programme for the crisis-hit national broadcaster over the next three years, coming from Exchequer-funded top-ups to licence fee sales. RTE executives' appearance before the committee on Wednesday comes after the broadcaster confirmed that it had written down 3.6 million euro on a partly failed IT system. Mr Bakhurst told the committee that while the write-down of public money was 'very unfortunate', it was 'very different from 2023'. He said the main part of the project, an updated finance system, was delivered while the HR element was not. 'Big projects, and particularly big IT projects, can go wrong, and what I've looked back at is how the organisation tried to salvage that, and what are the lessons learned from that.' He said that one example of the changes made as a result is that every month the full list of significant capital projects now go to the leadership team. RTE's HR director Eimear Cusack told the committee that the project was properly managed. 'I was responsible for the HR element and the HR requirements. We went through a tender process,' she said. 'There were a number of vendors who participated in that process. 'The final bids, we had external evaluation of those bids to ensure that we were picking the right providers and that was the result. 'The project ran into a number of difficulties. 'I think, that there were a number of issues that arose, particularly between the contractor and the subcontractor.' When put to her that the spec wasn't right, the right contractor wasn't chosen and it was not properly project managed, she said: 'I couldn't agree with that'. 'We put in our requirements, the contractor and the subcontractor who won the tender said that they could deliver on those requirements. 'Ultimately, the finance system was delivered upon. 'The HR system, they could not deliver on, but that was not known at the time that they signed up and they said they could deliver on it.' Deputy director of RTE Adrian Lynch, chairman of the RTE board Terence O'Rourke, RTE chief financial officer Mari Hurley and director of commercial Gavin Deans also appeared before committee. Ms Hurley said that there was a 4% decline in TV licence fee revenues in 2024 compared to 2023. 'The more significant declines that have been experienced in '23 have been averted,' she said.
Irish Independent
28-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Kevin Bakhurst said he was ‘infuriated' by reaction to RTE newsroom promo
He said the cost of filming the promo came out of RTE's annual two million euro marketing budget and cost less than 100,000 euro. 'A significant amount of the press coverage has been totally inaccurate about it,' he told TDs and Senators at committee. When asked about props used during the filming by Fianna Fail TD Peter 'Chap' Cleere, Mr Bakhurst said that two plants were moved from elsewhere in RTE to cover up electrical points during filming before being put back. 'Even when you're filming news interviews, sometimes people wear makeup, they have lighting, you might move a plant so the shot looks better and I would expect that of our highly professional promotions team.' He added: 'There's been some coverage about, you know, extras being brought in. 'The proper conversations were had about this between our marketing team, who were doing this, and the news management team about how we were going to do it. 'The initial request was, can some journalists from the newsroom sit in the background – they're going to be blurred out – can they sit in the background while we're filming this for several hours and the answer was 'No our journalists are too busy'.' He also said that RTE had 'just spent 50,000 euro doing up parts of the newsroom'. Senior RTE figures appeared before the Oireachtas media committee on Wednesday for the first time since the new Dail was formed. In 2023 the broadcaster was sharply criticised over a series of governance and financial scandals which further fuelled a years-long trend in declining TV licence revenue. The Government agreed a 725 million-euro financing programme for the crisis-hit national broadcaster over the next three years, coming from Exchequer-funded top-ups to licence fee sales. RTE executives' appearance before the committee on Wednesday comes after the broadcaster confirmed that it had written down 3.6 million euro on a partly failed IT system. Mr Bakhurst told the committee that while the write-down of public money was 'very unfortunate', it was 'very different from 2023'. He said the main part of the project, an updated finance system, was delivered while the HR element was not. 'Big projects, and particularly big IT projects, can go wrong, and what I've looked back at is how the organisation tried to salvage that, and what are the lessons learned from that.' He said that one example of the changes made as a result is that every month the full list of significant capital projects now go to the leadership team. RTE's HR director Eimear Cusack told the committee that the project was properly managed. 'I was responsible for the HR element and the HR requirements. We went through a tender process,' she said. 'There were a number of vendors who participated in that process. 'The final bids, we had external evaluation of those bids to ensure that we were picking the right providers and that was the result. 'The project ran into a number of difficulties. 'I think, that there were a number of issues that arose, particularly between the contractor and the subcontractor.' When put to her that the spec wasn't right, the right contractor wasn't chosen and it was not properly project managed, she said: 'I couldn't agree with that'. 'We put in our requirements, the contractor and the subcontractor who won the tender said that they could deliver on those requirements. 'Ultimately, the finance system was delivered upon. 'The HR system, they could not deliver on, but that was not known at the time that they signed up and they said they could deliver on it.' Deputy director of RTE Adrian Lynch, chairman of the RTE board Terence O'Rourke, RTE chief financial officer Mari Hurley and director of commercial Gavin Deans also appeared before committee. Ms Hurley said that there was a 4% decline in TV licence fee revenues in 2024 compared to 2023. 'The more significant declines that have been experienced in '23 have been averted,' she said.
Agriland
22-05-2025
- Agriland
TD urges safety for young farmers on rural roads
A TD has called on young farmers driving machinery on rural roads to remain vigilant, and to remember farm safety during the busy summer period. Fianna Fáil TD Peter 'Chap' Cleere highlighted the issue of young farmers driving heavy machinery, saying that being extra cautious at this time of year is important. 'This time of year is a busy time for farmers throughout the country. There is a lot heavy machinery on our rural roads as a result of this,' the Carlow/Kilkenny TD said. 'There are a lot of young farmers now coming on stream, and those who are on school holidays will be giving a lot of their time to the farm.' 'I would like to encourage all farmers to remain vigilant on our rural roads and be aware of the heavy machinery in which they are driving, as a lot of roads are narrower in these areas,' he added. Cleere highlighted recent findings from the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) which showed that fatal incidents on farms are on the rise. Two in five workplace-related fatalities are accounted for on farms, despite only representing 6.5% of the workforce. 'The recent HSA findings are quite concerning and to be frank, scary. I would encourage all farmers to do their best to minimise the risk of accidents, especially with quads on farms which are rising at an alarming rate of late,' the TD said. 'Quads, the driving of heavy-duty machinery, and working from heights are all concerns that are common themes for accidents on farms. 'Farmers are the backbone of rural Irish economies across the country. I see the valiant work the famers across my own constituency do – they are at the centre of our food industry in Ireland and contribute so much around the globe,' Cleere added. Minister stresses safety Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM) Michael Healy-Rae has voiced his concern about the significant increase in work-related fatalities among outdoor workers, particularly among farmers, as reported by the HSA. The minister extended his sympathies to those who lost loved ones, and recognises the pain that these families, friends and communities are going through. The minister said: 'The recent number of fatal incidents on farms is very concerning. 'These losses serve to remind us that safety must be prioritised above everything else, and farmers must make every effort to ensure their own safety and the safety of everyone working on or visiting their farm.'
