RTÉ Register of External Activities
RTÉ is today publishing a statistical summary from the Register of External Activities for the first quarter of 2024.
The RTÉ Register of External Activities (‘the Register’) commenced on 01 February 2024 and the publication for Q1 comprises the months February and March 2024.
RTÉ has engaged in consultations with the office of the Data Protection Commission (DPC) since last December.
RTÉ initially planned to publish summary details in the following format:
- the name of the person who received approval
- a brief description of the activity approved
- the relevant payment band for each activity approved.
The Data Protection Commission has advised RTÉ that in order to publish a public register containing this level of detail, specific legal underpinning in the form of primary or secondary legislation will be required.
The Commission also advised it would invoke its statutory powers, if publication of the kind outlined above was proposed, in the absence of appropriate legislation.
The DPC has confirmed to RTÉ that it has no objection to the creation and compilation of the Register of External Activities for internal management purposes
Pending legislation, the DPC has not raised concerns with a proposal from RTÉ to release a statistical summary of information from the Register for Q1, 2024 which is as follows:
Statistical summary
Total Number of approved activities: 133
Breakdown of activities within each payment band:
- 50%: No Payment/no benefit
- 26%: €1 – €1,000:
- 22%: €1,001 – €5,000
- 1-2%: €5,001 – €10,000
- <1%: Over €10,000
RTE Director-General, Kevin Bakhurst said: “In order to provide greater transparency around external activities, it was my intention to publish details as announced previously. Over recent months, RTÉ revised the Register of External Activities to address various concerns but the Data Protection Commission is firmly of the view that specific legislative authority is required to publish the level of detail originally intended. RTÉ has made a written request to the Department to proceed with legislation and we acknowledge the readiness of the DPC to assist in this process.
In the interim, the DPC has not raised any concerns with the aggregated statistical summary we are publishing today which provides a level of transparency that would not have been possible prior to the commencement of the Register.
It is notable that half of all approved activities did not involve any payment or benefit. These are events where those working with RTÉ give freely of their time for charitable, sporting, community, academic and social reasons.
It is also important to note the operation of the Register of External Activities is not impacted and staff and contractors are still required to provide the relevant information when seeking approval for an external activity.
With 133 approved in February and March, I would like to thank all those, staff and contractors, who have fully co-operated with this process.”
The Register of External Activities, the Register of Interests and Register of Gifts are now operational across RTÉ and represent significant governance reforms.
RTÉ will not be releasing any further information from the Register of External Activities, beyond that in the statistical summary above.
ENDS
Explanatory Note:
It is important to understand the scope of the Register of External Activities in terms of the activities that are included.
The Register covers the five main editorial divisions of RTÉ: News and Current Affairs, Sport, Content (TV), Radio 1 and Raidío na Gealtachta and RTÉ 2FM/Lyric fm/Gold.
In each division, a group of senior line managers decides whether to approve or not approve an application to engage in an external activity.
The core consideration in determining whether or not to approve is centred on RTÉ’s obligation under the broadcasting legislation for impartiality.
Clearly, the requirements in respect of impartiality are more stringent in the areas of news and current affairs.
External activities are typically ‘once-off’ activities, such as to MC an event, launching an event or product, speaking at a conference, etc.
There are people working with RTÉ who have ongoing business interests which may involve a commercial relationship with a particular brand or entity and as part of which the person engages in a range of events/activities throughout the year.
Individuals who come within this category have a legal and legitimate right to earn an outside income and ongoing commercial arrangements in this category do not necessarily constitute a ‘once-off’ external activity.
The Q1 Register of External Activities includes summary details of activities approved by line management. The detail gathered includes the name of person granted approval, the relevant RTÉ division, the date of the activity, a brief description of the activity and the relevant band of payment or where appropriate, no payment.
The Register of External Activities is but one part of governance reforms in RTÉ and a separate RTÉ Register of Interests and Gifts Register has also been put in place.