RTÉ has said a significant number of applications for its Voluntary Exit Programme in 2025 have been approved.
The broadcaster announced in May that 325 staff members had applied for the VEP, which comprises Voluntary Severance and Voluntary Early Retirement schemes.
In an email to staff this afternoon, the Director General of RTÉ said the review of the applications has now been completed.
Kevin Bakhurst said following the 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 under the terms of the VEP 2025”.
In cases where applications have been approved, the successful applicants will be issued with a formal offer letter and supporting documentation in the coming days.
The workers will then have one week from the date of a meeting with a tax expert, facilitated through RTÉ, to accept or decline the VEP offer.
Mr Bakhurst said where applications were not approved, the applicants have been asked to note that applications were reviewed in line with the approval criteria set out by the Department of Public Expenditure.
“In these cases, it was felt the roles could not be suppressed at this time, and that therefore an exit under VEP could not be facilitated,” he added.
In the correspondence, RTÉ staff were also told there are a number of cases where the review process has not yet concluded and requires further consideration.
Mr Bakhurst said: “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.”
The VEP was part of a five-year strategy announced in 2023 where the broadcaster outlined a plan to reduce staff numbers by up to 400.
RTÉ previously confirmed that its target figure for exits for 2025 under the scheme was “over 100”.
Successful applicants will leave the organisation by the end of this year, on 31 October, 30 November or 31 December.
To be eligible, employees had to have completed at least two years of continuous service on the date they would leave the organisation under the scheme, with payments capped at €300,000.
Staff with between two and five years of service will receive four weeks of pay per year of service.
Those with five to ten years of service will receive five weeks of pay per year, and employees working with RTÉ for more than ten years will get six weeks pay for every year of service.
The payments will be based on an employee’s exit salary and they will not qualify for any further redundancy.
Earlier this year, Mr Bakhurst said applications would be approved where “it is confirmed that the role can be suppressed or that equivalent savings can be made by suppressing an alternative post and/or redeploying an employee into that role”.
Senior management were not eligible to apply.
