According to recently made public records, RTÉ employees are not obliged to obtain a driver's license in order to get a car allowance.

According to documents provided to the Oireachtas Media Committee on Monday, some employees of the national broadcaster get annual gross salaries of as little as €24,000 ($25,702). This is around €6,000 ($6,426) less than the living wage.

Prior to the presentation of top executives on Wednesday, the national broadcaster informed the committee that 61 workers were receiving a car allowance as of the end of the previous year, as reported by the Irish Independent. 

It is unknown, if any, of the 61 employees do not possess a valid driver's license.

The disclosure is one of 178 documents that were sent to the committee before Director General Kevin Bakhurst, board members, and other top executives appeared before them on Wednesday to address additional inquiries concerning financial difficulties at Montrose.

The documents state that the automobile allowances are not pensionable, paid either biweekly or monthly, and are not endorsed. The station spends approximately €657,000 ($703,653) annually on automobile allowances in total.

17 employees receive the most typical payment, which is between €12,500 ($13,395) and €13,000 ($13,931). 

A yearly payment of between €7,000 ($7,501) and €7,500 ($8,037) is given to twelve employees. A stipend of between €1,000 ($1,071) and €1,500 ($1,607) is given to ten employees. The maximum amount, which ranges between €24,000 ($25,719) and €25,000 ($26,794), is given to six employees. Names are withheld.

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Soho House Club Membership Issue

The records also reveal that, contrary to earlier claims, the RTÉ's membership at London's prestigious Soho House club was only used to accommodate the station's former commercial director Geraldine O'Leary and one staff member.

(Photo: by LOU BENOIST/AFP via Getty Images)
French power grid operator RTE employees stand near electricity pylons as they take part in maintenance work on high voltage lines near Flers, northwestern France, on April 19, 2023.

RTÉ spent more than €4,200 ($4,501) on the members' club, according to documents previously provided to the committee; Ms. O'Leary told the committee in July that it was used for client meetings since RTÉ no longer had offices in London.

However, according to the most recent documents, RTÉ acknowledged that no meetings were held in Soho House despite the fact that Ms. O'Leary and another member of the commercial department had reservations there twice, in December 2022 and April 2023.

RTÉ has also stated that it will not reveal the names of its top 100 earners due to data privacy issues. According to the station, it would be "inappropriate" to request staff consent before publishing their name and wage.

In response to questions from the committee regarding its 50 lowest-paid employees at the end of last year, RTÉ stated that certain employees were on a salary range with the lowest points between €24,000 ($25,719) and €26,000 ($27,865) gross per year and the highest points between €32,000 ($34,296) and €41,000 ($43,942) gross per year.

These scales correspond to some operational and administrative grades.

According to the station, individuals who "work limited hours or provide their services on an as-needed basis" are actually among the 50 lowest-paid employees at the station. This includes those filling in for employees on sick leave or for unplanned occasions like Culture Night, the World Cup, or the Olympics.

The bulk of the document dump consists of old risk assessments, internal audit reports, and external audit reports.

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