The television centre has been in operation for over 60 years.
Discussions have recently arisen surrounding the idea of selling the RTÉ Donnybrook base amid the financial crisis.
In conversation with RTÉ News at One, OPW Minister of State Patrick O’Donovan said this of the broadcaster’s Dublin 4 location and their current financial situation:
“If Virgin Media can broadcast out of an industrial estate in Ballymount, it begs the question why are RTÉ broadcasting out of one of the most lucrative sites in western Europe.”
The Journal spoke with committee chairwoman Fianna Fáil’s Niamh Smyth on her thoughts around selling the Donnybrook base, to which she said they should “absolutely” consider it, and “everything has to be on the table” when it comes to getting out of the financial situation they have found themselves in.
Smyth continued:
“They have been asked for many, many years to restructure how they do things, to do things in an effective and efficient way. And their bottom line doesn’t add up.
“Whether that is you know, salaries, whether it’s property, whatever that is that have been asked, on many, many occasions before and the expectation is that they reconfigure in whatever way they need to do that to make the bottom line add up. And we haven’t seen that yet.
“They cannot come before the committee tomorrow, the board itself, or before a minister or before government and ask them to plug a hole with millions if they’re not going to be able to demonstrate what they’re doing themselves.”
The RTÉ Television Centre has operated at this Donnybrook location for over 60 years, since 1962.
Header images via RTÉ
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