RTÉ have said that the future of comedy sketch show Republic Of Telly is under review following rumours that the long-running series is set to be axed amid a shake up of the schedule by the broadcaster.

In a statement it said that "No decision has been made yet on whether Republic of Telly will be returning to RTÉ2 in the spring".

It added that "As is common practice for all our shows, we will review its performance this season and over the coming weeks will make a decision on whether to re-commission it for another series in 2017.

"RTÉ is committed to producing homegrown Irish content on RTÉ2 on Monday nights and will continue to do so in 2017."

The broadcaster also addressed rumours of the future of the popular documentary series Reality Bites and confirmed that it will be "back in the new year" and said that production has already begun on some new documentaries.

Rubberbandits found a whole new audience on Republic of Telly

Republic of Telly has been broadcast since 2009 and it has helped to launch the careers of some well known comedy acts including Rubberbandits, Jennifer Maguire, Dermot Whelan, Al Porter and Bernard O'Shea.

It also led to the hugely successful spin-off sit com, Bridget & Eamon which began life as a series of sketches on the show, while several of the sketches have become bona fide viral hits including their recent take on John B. Keane's, The Field.

The final episode of the most recent series of Republic of Telly, which is presented by Kevin McGahern, aired on Monday night.

Putting the final touches on the script for the last episode of the series. Looking forward to tonight. #republicoftelly airs Monday 10pm pic.twitter.com/MzZCWEuyAJ — Kevin McGahern (@kevinmcgahern) November 27, 2016

Last week there was dismay at RTÉ's decision to outsource production of Young People's programmes to the independent sector to help stem projected losses at the broadcaster of €20 million by the end of 2016.

However, the broadcaster has agreed to enter into talks with RTÉ unions over the issue in the new year and has said they will make a further announcement no later than January 31, 2017.

RTÉ's new Director General Dee Forbes is holding a series of staff updates on Wednesday to brief staff on the current financial situation at Montrose.