Essential Service or Expensive Circus? Episode 492

Today on the show , Niall opens the lines to listeners as we dive into the latest controversy at RTÉ. HR chief Eimear Cusack, once among the broadcaster’s top earners on €275,000 a year, is set to leave—but not through the redundancy scheme. Cusack was at the heart of the €450,000 sweetheart deal scandal, involved in the €3.6m IT project debacle, and central to the culture of mismanagement that shook public trust after the Ryan Tubridy payments saga.

Despite bailouts and €750 million of taxpayer funding, questions remain: have things really changed? Are the days of lavish expenses, oversized salaries, foreign junkets, and golden handshakes truly over—or just hidden better?

But it’s not all bad. RTÉ still delivers moments of real public value—sports coverage, Prime Time Investigates, Irish drama, and national events that bring people together.

So, Niall asks callers: is RTÉ an essential public service worth protecting, or a bloated institution that’s lost its credibility? Should we keep funding it—or finally pull the plug?