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RTÉ WILL CONTINUE to make some in-house children’s programming in 2017, TheJournal.ie has learned.
Back in November, the state broadcaster was heavily criticised after it said it would no longer produce any programming for young people, citing a “challenging financial environment”.
RTÉ instead planned to commission all of its content geared towards young people from the independent sector.
However, it is now understood that the required savings have been found following negotiations between the workers’ union and management.
The station has now temporarily rowed back on the move, saying it will continue to produce some children’s programming this year. TheJournal.ie understands it will be a minimal amount of programming.
A source with knowledge of the situation says the programming being made in-house is for RTÉ Jr, which is aimed at children under the age of seven. “There is nothing being made in-house for any other age group,” they said, adding that many people have lost their jobs.
In November, the broadcaster’s Trade Union Group (TUG) said the original move was announced “without any consultation with trade unions” and held talks with RTÉ in a bid to stop it.
Internal memo
In an internal memo sent to staff in the past 24 hours, and seen by TheJournal.ie, RTÉ acknowledged “the work of the Young People’s Programme (YPP) department over the years and the specific skill set required in the creation of content for YPP”, while the TUG noted “the severe financial constraints under which RTÉ is currently operating”.
It continues: “For its part, RTÉ confirms its commitment in 2017 to the internal production and creation of content for young people as outlined in a 2017 YPP Agreement.
“The parties jointly acknowledge that the required savings have been identified and achieved as part of this negotiation.”
It notes that a number of concerns were raised during negotiation on the issue, stating:
RTÉ and TUG have agreed a plan for 2017 and have identified existing resources which will be used to maintain internally produced YPP content, within current budgets, while delivering the required savings for the organisation.
The memo adds that RTÉ has confirmed its commitment to YPP outreach, meaning the continued presence of YPP at offsite events such as the National Ploughing Championships and Bloom.
The station has also committed to “a high-profile promotion campaign aimed at parents to direct them to YPP content across the various platforms” and keeping TV, radio, online and/or app presences for YPP brands.
The RTÉ and the TUG have agreed to meet quarterly “to review and monitor the ongoing operation of these arrangements”.
In a separate statement sent to TheJournal.ie, a spokesperson for RTÉ said: “RTÉ and the TUG are committed to working together to ensure that younger audiences continue to be served, while maintaining the necessary savings that had previously been identified given RTÉ’s ongoing funding concerns.
“RTÉ will continue to offer the RTÉ Jr service on television, radio, and online/mobile for under sevens, as well as TRTÉ, the block of programming on RTÉ2 for seven to 12 year olds. Details of in-house production are still being worked on and the Trade Union Group and RTÉ have committed to quarterly reviews of the agreement.”
Reaction
Bosco visited TheJournal.ie shortly after the decision was announced in November and was not impressed with RTÉ, saying:
I think it’s because [RTÉ] don’t care about children … because if they did care about children then they wouldn’t take away the programmes.
“It made me very sad because I didn’t want that to happen. I don’t think anybody wanted it to happen. Now they say that they’re going to get lots of other people to make the programmes and I’m sure they’re going to do a very good job, but it’s not going to be the same when there’s no RTÉ Jr … I think it means the end of children’s programmes properly.”
When asked if Bosco trusted the adults in RTÉ, the puppet said:
No, I don’t. I think I’d give them the sack. I think that they should ask everybody what they think because doesn’t everybody pay to have children’s television when they pay their TV licence.
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Jesus Christ, hopefully he makes a full recovery, lot of people are driving like crazy nowadays.
@Anthony Burke: How do you know this accident had anything to do with driving standards?
@Anthony Burke: A bit harsh to start shifting the blame when you haven’t a clue of the circumstances.
@John O Brien: typical defensive attitude. Put it this way – it doesn’t matter if it was a pedestrian, cyclist, dog or other car that was in the way, no-one should be driving at such a speed that they can’t stop for any of these, especially when there are no cars on the road. If a child is airlifted to hospital after “a collision between two vehicles”, you can be sure the other vehicle wasn’t paying enough attention.
@John O Brien: agree! I see 11 year old cyclists speeding every day! NOT!
speedy recovery little man!
@Brynþór Patrekursson: so if the car was driving 50km on a 50km road and a person/child/cat/dog came out in front of your bumper it’s the drivers fault for not being able to stop on time?
Quick and full recovery for the child and hopefully the driver is ok too(if not at fault).
@Anthony Burke: I was going to my local shop today in a rural spot and a ups driver nearly came up on the path. He was going way too fast in a village with a 50km,ph limit. Must have been been going 90/100 . He was on 2 wheels going around the bend.
@Aviationdub: It could be, if 50 km was not an appropriate speed to be driving at, given the conditions. E.g, driving past a football match, funeral, etc just after the event has ended. Obviously, the other cyclist, pedestrian, etc has some responsibility (unless they’re 5 years old). If a person parachutes down in front of the car, saying the driver was at fault would be unreasonable.
@Aviationdub: yes, you are supposed to anticipate hazards. You slow down on bends and anywhere you can’t see a good distance ahead.
Also pedestrians have been crazy on the roads recently. Well the country roads, they are walking in the middle of the road sometimes in twos and threes very dangerous. They probably think they’re ok as there is not much traffic on the roads but one car can do a lot of damage to a pedestrian.
@lunadoran: perhaps drivers should drive to the conditions and the road. Those twos and threes could just as easily be a person with a double buggy, an oncoming tractor, a person on a horse, etc ……. Saying 2 or 3 pedestrians are dangerous is poor show for driver
@Eoin Scanlon: Walking 2 or 3 abreast on a country road is poor judgement. Maybe you should think of any poor person who rounds a bend and has insufficient time to avoid a collision. It’s not always the driver’s fault.
@lunadoran: Jeesus! – they’re supposed to be on the road. No excuses during a pandemic where cars are down 95% and everyone knows pedestrians and cyclists have to keep bigger distances apart. Far, far, too many unnecessary journeys by arrogant individuals, especially in rural areas. And arrogant individuals mixed with cars result in injuries like this.
@lunadoran: Slow down! Where are these people supposed to walk? Their are no pavements on a lot of rural roads.
@lunadoran: its actually safer to cycle /walk in the middle of the road.
Get well soon .. You are in my prayers young man
Praying you recover, God bless you and your family
Drivers are exploiting the pandemic to drive like total maniacs. Speeding up more than 50%. The roads are getting out of control .
@Bob Moore: also noticing a lot of cyclists completely ignoring traffic lights at busy junctions due to lack of traffic.. and not taking any real time to look in all directions!!
@Lydia McLoughlin: make sure you get the anti cyclists jibe on an article about a poor 11 year old smashed by a car
@Lydia McLoughlin: Really bad form Lydia. Think next time before you post. Cyclists don’t kill thousands of people around the world every year
This boy was innocently riding his bike.
Very, very insensitive of you. Cop on.
@Eoin Scanlon: I’m a cyclist and a driver. I find both your comments to be poorly timed. There are plenty of bad drivers, plenty of bad cyclists and plenty of pedestrians who practise poor judgement. My thoughts are with this child and his family at this moment in time.
Incredibly small minded people writing comments. I hope this poor 11 year old child makes a full recovery and thoughts and prayers with both his family and that of the driver. A bit of humanity goes along way over arguing with strangers getting insignificant jibes in. Roads are for everyone. Everyone who uses them has a responsibility for their own safety as well as that of other users. It doesn’t make every driver, cyclist or pedestrian involved in an accident open to idiotic comments by people who have no idea of the circumstances.
@Sandra Whelehan: agree Sandra.. but with great (horse) power comes great(er) responsibility. You can’t say an 11 year old on a bicycle is is responsible for his/her own safety. It’s up to us adults who drive to look out for other road users.
@Alan Kelly: Of course he’s responsible for his own safety if he’s on a road. What a strange thing to say.
@Johnny 5: hand in your driving license at your nearest Garda Station please.
@Alan Kelly: I know of a young girl (family member of my mams best friend) who literally ran out in front of a car, the car was going about 30km speed at tops, her friends all ran across the main road and she followed a couple of minutes later, ran from behind a parked car without looking. Anyways the car hit her, the way she landed on the road unfortunately gave her fatal injuries.
The poor car driver was never the same, he actually became very good friends with the young girls mam and they helped each other through the grief.
At the end of the day, it was a tragic accident pure and simple and there was no way of avoiding it. Moral of the story, accidents happen and it’s not always the drivers fault.
Hopefully the young lad makes a full and quick recovery.
@Aviationdub: yeah that can happen…that’s why you should always drive slowly past parked cars. As you approach cars, look for pedestrians feet under the parked cars. Same goes for buses at bus stops, watch out for passengers alighting and crossing the road in front of the bus! Like I said..when driving, we have a greater responsibility to look out for more vulnerable road users.
@Alan Kelly: So I should avert my attention from the road in front and look to see whether I can see feet under a parked car? Surely then I’m more at risk of knocking a pedestrian down coming from the other side? Maybe, just maybe all road users should learn the rules of the road? You’re basically saying all drivers should drive at 20 kms per hour because pedestrians are eejits.
@Johnny 5: you could look 5 times while approaching a parked and still not see a child dart out at the last second, thats even going at 20km. As I said freak accidents can happen and will always happen, we will never be able to stop it unfortunately.
@Johnny 5: Should we examine your 20 km/h proposal further? It might improve road safety.
@Johnny 5: no, just drive with due care and attention.
@Sandra Whelehan: well said.
@Sandra Whelehan: every time there is a crime which justifiably opens debate, people say “now is not the time- let people grieve”. Mass shootings for example.
@Alan Kelly: can I keep my license so?
Incredibly narrow country road but quite straight in places which inclines some motorists to drive too fast. Know the area very well
Don’t have to be speeding to injure an 11 year old.
Get well soon ☘️
A little boy is fighting for his life and look at most of the comments. People bickering about who is to blame and not one of you knows the facts. You all should be ashamed of yourselves. Please God little Daithi makes a full recovery
@Decko49: Exactly……..a child of 11 in 5th class in primary school. Hope he makes a full recover.
I live in the country and around every corner is more people out walking than ive ever seen before, drivers need to really slow down on small roads particularly, i worry for them when I see them walking, just takes one ejit to wreck a family…
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