Local NUJ chief welcomes external probe of RTÉ voluntary exit schemes

The Irish secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), Seamus Dooley, has welcomed the announcement of an independent review of RTÉ's voluntary exit schemes during the years between 2017 and 2021.

The external review was announced by RTÉ's Director General Kevin Bakhurst yesterday (Thursday) evening and will proceed in tandem with the work of the Government's Review of Contractor Fees, Human Resources, and other matters.

Mr Dooley, in a statement on behalf of the NUJ, said: "We welcome this review and look forward to full publication of the findings.

"There has long been concerns at the lack of transparency and the inconsistency in the handling of applications.

"There is no appeal procedure under the schemes.

"All applications for such schemes must be treated fairly and all applicants are entitled to have their cases considered on the same basis.

"In some cases, there were serious procedural gaps in the approval process and the review must examine whether there was a two-tier system in operation. Our members want to know who else was granted the package outside those rules.

"It was not clear to the NUJ or sister unions that members of the Executive Board could avail of the voluntary exit scheme. We would have expected that, in the case of applications from senior management, procedures would have been in place for approval by the Board.

"Given the existence of a gold-plated executive pension scheme the early retirement option is extremely attractive," Mr Dooley concluded.