Here’s what RTÉ’s 15% pay cuts will look like for its top presenters

By Grace McGettigan
07th Nov 2019

RTE presenters Ryan Tubridy Miriam O Callaghan Ray Darcy

Here’s what RTÉ’s 15% pay cuts will look like for its top presenters

RTE presenters Ryan Tubridy Miriam O Callaghan Ray Darcy

We crunched the numbers to work out what RTÉ’s 15% pay cuts will mean for its top presenters

RTÉ has confirmed it needs to reduce costs by €60 million over the next three years. To do so, they will introduce a series of cost-saving measures, including pay cuts and service closures.

Dee Forbes, who is RTÉ’s Director-General, said the decision comes after an assessment from the board, adding that the organisation’s financial situation was unlike anything they’d ever seen.

Not only will RTÉ say goodbye to 200 members of staff, but it will also close its digital radio stations (including Radio Gold and Pulse) and its Aertel service. Lyric FM’s studio in Limerick will also close, with the station’s production set to move to Cork and Dublin.

Additionally, some of RTÉ’s top-earning, on-air presenters will face a 15% pay reduction. Here we break down exactly how much that is and who will be affected.

RTÉ presenter pay cuts

Less than 12 months ago, RTÉ revealed the salaries for its top 10 presenters. The annual report is published two years in arrears, which means the earnings below are for the year 2016. Assuming the presenters’ salaries have not changed since then, we have calculated how much of a pay cut they will face.

Ryan Tubridy comes out on top. The Late Late Show host and Radio One presenter has been taking home a salary of €495,000 per year. He will now face a 15% cut of €74,250.

Ray D’Arcy, who is a close second, will have his earnings of €450,000 reduced by €67,500.

See the full list of pay reductions below:

Ryan Tubridy

2016 salary: €495,000
15% reduction: €74,250
New salary: €420,750

Ray D’Arcy

2016 salary: €450,000
15% reduction: €67,500
New salary: €382,500

Joe Duffy

2016 salary: €389,988
15% reduction: €58,498.20
New salary: €331,489.80

Sean O’Rourke

2016 salary: €308,964
15% reduction: €46,344.60
New salary: €262,619.40

Marian Finucane

2016 salary: €300,617
15% reduction: €45,092.55
New salary: €255,524.45