RTÉ Correspondents Asked To Work "With One Hand Tied Behind Our Back" - Mullooly

Friday, 7 July 2023 10:48

By Caoimhe Harney

Speaking on Kildare Today, Ciarán Mullooly, RTÉ’s former Midlands correspondent, said staff at the broadcaster were working on shoe string budgets

A former RTÉ correspondent said staff were expected to do their jobs with one hand tied behind their back.

Speaking on Kildare Today, Ciarán Mullooly, RTÉ’s former Midlands correspondent, said staff at the broadcaster were working on shoe string budgets, while Ryan Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly were getting special treatment.

He said there was no full time camera crew for the midlands, and in many cases the nearest camera crew would be coming from the west coast.

He insisted that the events of the last ten days will have a devastating impact on RTÉ, "both good and bad."

"Staff were just really really frustrated. My colleague Richard Dowling left his job in the north - east, and the job was not filled for two years," he added.

Mullooly explained how he and his colleague Eilleen Magner, based in the north west, drove hundreds of miles to cover stories in Meath, Louth and Cavan.

He also believes the “betrayal of the trust” of ordinary members of staff who endured repeated pay cuts has killed any chance of the licence fee being increased again.

Ciarán Mullooly, spoke with Eoin Beatty on Friday morning's Kildare Today, listen back to the full interview here:

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