RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst said the acceptance rate for the broadcaster's voluntary exit offers is around 63 per cent this year. Mr Bakhurst, a former BBC News executive, also said that he has not applied for the vacant director general role at the BBC and is “very happy” in his current job. So we’re still very hopeful indeed of 100 exits this year from RTÉ,” Mr Bakhurst said. In response to questions from Social Democrats TD Sinéad Gibney, Mr Bakhurst also confirmed plans to outsource National Lottery programming as part of its cost-saving initiative. Asked by Ms Gibney if management is targeting any other programmes, Mr Bakhurst said: “The Lotto will be going out, because that costs a lot of money to do.

Source: The Irish Times December 10, 2025 19:36 UTC