The director general of RTÉ has admitted the station is going to lose some top staff in the ongoing redundancy scheme.

In a memo to staff, the national broadcaster confirmed that all staff who take the package will leave the station by the end of this year. Speaking in Galway at the FÍS TV Summit, Dee Forbes conceded the station would lose "some people that we would prefer not to lose".

"We're now in a process of assessment. There was a lot of interest and now it's about evaluating exactly who, in what area etc," she said.

Ms Forbes said the station had no option but to cut staff as revenues fell.

"The scheme is that we need to reduce our costs. It's a fact of life, you've seen our revenues have declined by €100m a year since 2008. We can't continue in that vein so unfortunately we're in a position where we have to lose some colleagues," she added.

Asked if she was concerned about losing talent, Ms Forbes replied: "Of course, we're going to lose some people that we would prefer not to lose, I mean that's the name of the game, but we then have to regroup and rebuild and the new structure that is in place right now will allow us to work differently."

RTÉ is seeking around 250 redundancies. In a HR update to staff yesterday, the station laid out the timeline for those leaving. All applications will be reviewed by senior management and the executive board over the next two weeks and formal offers will then be made to approved applicants on Friday, October 27.

Staff will have until November 10 to formally accept the offer. The majority of those approved for the deal will leave RTÉ by the end of 2017. Ms Forbes also confirmed the gender equality review would be shared with staff in the coming weeks.

Irish Independent