LAST UPDATE | 11 Oct 2023

RTÉ’S CHIEF FINANCIAL Officer Richard Collins has resigned from his position within the broadcaster.

RTÉ’s Director-General Kevin Bakhurst confirmed the resignation to staff today.

Bakhurst told staff: “”Richard Collins has tendered his resignation as CFO of RTÉ. Richard will work on a handover and RTÉ is in the process of identifying a replacement CFO.

“Richard will assist in any ongoing processes to the extent that this may be required.

“We wish to thank Richard for his hard work and contribution to RTÉ over the past three years and to wish him every success in the future.”

In July, it was announced that Collins was among the five members of the former Executive Board that had been stood down.

Collins featured prominently in the Oireachtas Committee hearings following the controversy surrounding the pay of former Late Late Show host Ryan Tubridy.

In one of the most dramatic moments from those hearings, Collins admitted that he was unsure of his exact salary.

Sinn Féin’s John Brady asked Collins what his salary is and Collins dismissed the question as “a private matter”.

After an intervention from the PAC chair Brian Stanley, Collins replied: “I don’t know my exact salary off the top of my head.”

After another intervention by Stanley, Collins revealed that his salary was somewhere in the region of €200,000, with a car allowance of €25,000.

Last month, RTÉ introduced an immediate recruitment freeze as the broadcaster continues to grapple with fall in licence fee revenue following recent controversies.

It is currently projecting a loss of €21 million by year end due to a fall in TV licence payments

This €21 million in revenue gap was on top of a deficit of €7 million RTÉ had already budgeted for in 2023.

-With additional reporting from Press Association