OIREACHTAS MEDIA CHAIR Alan Kelly has said he still has concerns in how RT\u00c9 is handling its affairs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Speaking to The Journal in Galway, where the Labour Party think-in took place this week, Kelly said he believes the issue of funding and redundancies will be a \u201cbig issue\u201d in the months ahead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When asked what could land on the desk of the committee regarding RT\u00c9 this year, he said \u201cyou never know what\u2019s going to go on with RT\u00c9, to be fair\u201d.<\/p>\n
Before the D\u00e1il rose for the summer, RT\u00c9 said it needed another multiannual funding commitment when the current package ends.<\/p>\n
The director-general Kevin Bakhurst said he would \u201cappeal very strongly\u201d for a similar multiannual \u20ac725 million commitment when it next comes for review in 2027.<\/p>\n
In August, an internal RT\u00c9 analysis showed that \u201cchallenges\u201d were presenting with the voluntary exit programme. The public broadcaster has a five-year strategy to reduce its headcount by up to 400 in the period up to 2029.<\/p>\n
Kelly said he gets a lot of correspondence from people on RT\u00c9, and from those who work there, stating: \u201cI would still have concerns in relation to how they\u2019re dealing with things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo definitely, that issue will come up, but we\u2019ll give them an opportunity to update us, and we\u2019ll go from there,\u201d he said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Media committee the new PAC?<\/p>\n
Kelly, who is Labour\u2019s spokesperson for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, once sat on the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which is seen as the heavyweight when it comes to committees.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, the media committee has been making waves and headlines, with well-known players, such as RT\u00c9 and a number of tech firms coming in for scrutiny by committee members over the last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a joke that a few journalists have said that it\u2019s [the media committee] the new PAC,\u201d Kelly said with a smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The committee also deals with matters relating to sport and the arts, as well as social media.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s such a wide area that there\u2019s always a focus in on something. So I think that\u2019s why it gets a lot of interest,\u201d said Kelly.<\/p>\n
Kelly has criticised TikTok for not agreeing to appear before a public sitting of the committee over videos on the platform of youths driving the wrong way down motorways being allowed to remain online after the M9 incident.<\/p>\n
TikTok only offered to meet the committee if it was held in private session, but said it would appear in public session once examinations by An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na and Coimisi\u00fan na Me\u00e1n have concluded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Calling it a \u201cslap in the face\u201d of the committee, Kelly said \u201cit doesn\u2019t look good for them not coming in\u201d.<\/p>\n
Asked about the committee\u2019s lack of power to compel people and companies to appear before them, Kelly acknowledged it is a \u201chuge impediment, and everyone can see it now\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n