RTÉ boss Kevin Bakhurst understated package by €31,500 on 'Prime Time'
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RTÉ director General Kevin Bakhurst underreported his total pay package by €31,500 after he got “mixed up” about his remuneration.
In a live interview on on Tuesday while discussing pay cuts and job losses at the station, Mr Bakhurst told presenter Sarah McInerney that his total pay package was €306,000.
However, RTÉ has confirmed to the that Mr Bakhurst “got mixed up” and his total remuneration is €337,500.
The interview followed staff briefings at the state broadcaster that day, in which Mr Bakhurst had revealed pay would be capped at no more than that of the director general.
Staff have been left reeling at Mr Bakhurst's cost-cutting plan which will see up to 400 jobs go between now and 2028.
Mr Bakhurst’s package consists of a basic salary of €250,000, a car allowance worth €25,000 and his pension contribution is 25% of his basic salary, which is €62,500.
Asked on for clarity about the pay cap, Mr Bakhust said: “The proposal is we cap it at €250,000 which is the basic salary.
“Yeah you’re right I have an allowance on top of that, a car allowance of €25,000 as well yeah, and pension entitlements.
"I think the total package is 306 [thousand] altogether.”
"The proposal is the overall package should be not in excess of what the director general is earning and that’s €250,000 whether you’re staff or contractor.”
Following repeated questioning about Mr Bakhurst’s total pay package by the , a spokesperson for RTÉ said the director general “got mixed up on the pension element... he said ‘I think’.
“The figure of €337,500 is correct,” the spokesperson added.
Fianna Fáil TD and chairperson of the Oireachtas media committee Niamh Smyth has said she is “bewildered” by the clarification from the broadcaster.
She has called on Mr Bakhurst to issue his own statement on the matter.
She told the : “The under-reporting of €31,500 is the equivalent of some of the lower-paid workers at RTÉ.
“It would be very useful if the director general can issue a clarification on what exactly his total pay package is.
“RTÉ has been through a turbulent time and the biggest frustration for the general public has been on the issue of salaries.
"It’s important the director general is clear and unambiguous and correct about his own salary because he’s setting a bar for the top earners in RTÉ now,” she added.
It comes as consultations on cost-cutting measures including up to 400 job losses over the next four years began at the station on Thursday.
Mr Bakhurst revealed his plan to staff this week as the Government confirmed it would give the broadcaster an additional €56m in funding to overcome a short-term cash crisis.