RTÉ warned the government it would need more flexibility to make its voluntary exit scheme successful.
The broadcaster said a “hard closing date” and having to seek yearly approval would compromise their ability to meet targets for a reduced staff headcount.
RTÉ sought permission to run their voluntary exit programme (VEP) on a five-year basis saying it was “business critical” that it happened on a phased basis.
Internal documents said the broadcaster had “stressed the importance of not applying a hard closing date.”
Instead, RTÉ was left to run its exit programme for 2025 with only a “narrow window” in which staff could apply.
An analysis of last year’s VEP said criteria for acceptance were “restrictive” and that staff were not given enough time to make decisions on whether to leave or not.
It said calculating the numbers for 134 early exit applicants involved significant effort and cost but led to only “forty-plus” offers.
The warnings against strict deadlines were contained in a business case prepared for the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport.
Earlier this month, its minister Patrick O’Donovan criticised RTÉ for its slow pace of reform saying he was “not happy that we have seen sufficient progress in delivering the smaller more agile processes that we sought to be delivered.”
However, internal records show that at least some of the difficulties faced by the broadcaster in reducing manpower were raised with the department in advance.
The business case said: “RTÉ requires the flexibility to accept VEP applications throughout the five-year period of the strategy, without having to seek approval from [Department of Public Expenditure] annually for potential exits in any given year.”
The broadcaster’s scheme for 2025 opened in April and allowed less than two months before its application deadline of 26 May.
An internal RTÉ analysis said: “The narrow window to run the VEP programme and secure exits by 31 December 2025 placed a strain on the process and on individuals in making the decision to accept, or not.”
The business case presented to the department said the broadcaster planned to reduce its workforce by up to 20 percent over a five-year period.
It said there would be a “smaller and more agile workforce” with increased spend with independent production companies.
However, it warned the scale of the planned cuts was different to exit programmes in the past and that “flexibility will be required.”
A review of a previous scheme from 2021 said 26 people had left but this figure had only been possible because applications were considered after the original deadline.
The business case said: “It is expected that most of the individuals being released will come from RTÉ’s Content and Operations areas in keeping with the strategy.
“However, if insufficient numbers indicate their interest in the scheme and there is an interest coming from other areas, RTÉ will consider transferring staff within areas to allow people avail of the VEP.”
It said there would also be a need for reskilling of employees who didn’t want to leave but whose roles would no longer be required.
The RTÉ business case also said some recruitment would be needed while the exit scheme was in place.
Two options would be available for staff with two years of continuous service: voluntary severance or voluntary early retirement.
However, it said RTÉ needed to be in the position to accept applications at any time rather than having deadlines in place.
It added: “RTÉ can update [government] of the number of applications and exits on a regular basis. A robust approval process will be put in train.”
Asked about the records, a department spokesperson said: “While RTÉ’s business case of the VEP had proposed a multi-annual programme aligned to the New Directions strategy, following consideration of the business case the sanction provided by the (then) Minster for [Public Expenditure] was for an annual programme, which would be subject to post-project review assessing outcomes and financial effectiveness prior to approval of subsequent programmes.
“This aligns with the general approach to sanctioning such exit/redundancy programmes. It is a matter for RTÉ in the first instance to manage any voluntary exit programme effectively in line with approval provided.”