RTÉ has said it has approved a significant number of applications for its voluntary redundancy programme, writes Helen Bruce.

The programme is part of a five-year plan that began in 2023 to reduce staff by 400.

It came on the same day that RTÉ presenter David McCullagh revealed that he will join the broadcaster’s top 10 highest paid presenters, with a salary package worth €240,000, when he takes over Claire Byrne’s Today radio show.

RTÉ announced in May that 325 staff members had applied for the programme, which includes both voluntary “severance” and voluntary retirement.

Director General Kevin Bakhurst said in a statement that, following a review, “a significant number of applications have been approved, a smaller number have not been approved, and a large number will now proceed for further review”.

He said while there has been a significant number of approvals in the first round of reviews, “it has not been possible to accommodate all applications.”

Those who have been approved will be sent an offer letter in the coming days.

The RTÉ employees will then meet with a tax expert, arranged through the broadcaster, before being given a week to accept or reject the offer.

In the correspondence, he said that some applications will require further consideration.

“In certain cases, approval will be dependent on the level of acceptance of offers made today.

“So, further reviews of applications will take place in the coming weeks as we receive responses and continue to explore ways to facilitate additional exits under the VEP this year,” he wrote.

Mr McCullagh, the Six-One News anchor and Behind the Story podcast presenter, will take his position behind the microphone of Radio 1’s Today programme in November.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Oliver Callan programme yesterday, Mr McCullagh said he will continue to be a staff member with the national broadcaster, rather than a contractor.

He said he will receive a salary of €209,000 for the new role alongside a pension, which “will bring it up to the total package [of] about €240,000”.

“So for the first time, I’ll be in, I presume I’ll be in, the top 10 list. So everybody will know how much I’m getting paid.”

His current salary is not known, but has fallen outside the top 10 highest paid presenters, according to RTÉ’s own reports.

An RTÉ spokesperson said: “RTÉ does not comment on individual salaries or remuneration beyond those published in its Annual Reports – the RTÉ Leadership Team and the top 10 highest paid on-air presenters.”

According to the most recently published report, for 2023, George Lee was in tenth position within the highest paid presenters, earning €185,000.

The highest paid presenter at the time was Joe Duffy, on €350,000, who recently retired from RTÉ and Liveline.

Claire Byrne is leaving RTÉ to take over Pat Kenny’s weekday Newstalk slot, nine months after she had to take a €30,000 pay cut under the State broadcaster’s new salary cap.

She had been on €280,000 after it was reduced from €350,000 when she left her Claire Byrne Live television show, but the cap saw her salary drop again to €250,000.

She is expected to take home a much bigger salary from Newstalk owner Bauer Media when she starts work next spring.

Kenny, who is moving to a weekend slot from April 2025, signed on for €400,000 in 2013.

Mr McCullagh said he had not wanted to leave Six One News but believed the Today Show was “probably one of the best gigs in Irish media”, and that he had made it known that he would be interested in the job “if there were opportunities”.

“So when it was offered to me, [it] didn’t take long to make up my mind,” he said.

He said he knew there were “big shoes to fill” when he takes on the position, as the programme has a “long tradition of really excellent presenters”.

The most recent JNLR figures, published in August, showed that Today with Claire Byrne was one of the most listened-to radio programmes in the country with 354,000 listeners.

“I’m aware that it’s a big challenge and that’s part of the attraction, but I’m also aware that the team is fabulous,” Mr McCullagh said.

In addition to his new radio role, Mr McCullagh will continue to present general, European and presidential election coverage for RTÉ News.

He will start his new role on November 3.