Staff costs at State media regulator Coimisiún na Meán increased more than three fold to €12.74m in 2024 in its first full year in operation.
That is according to the 2024 annual report for Coimisiún na Meán which shows that staff costs surged as average numbers employed at the regulator increased from 69 to 156.
The report states that "2024 was a transformative year for recruitment at Coimisiún na Meán, marking a period of exceptional growth and success in talent acquisition".
"At the start of the year, we had 79 staff members. By June, our headcount had more than doubled to 174, and by December, we had reached 209 employees, including Commissioners," today's report says.
The report states that "this rapid expansion was achieved efficiently, demonstrating the strength of our employer brand and the appeal of our mission".
The report also states that "our vision, mission, and purpose have been instrumental in attracting top talent, with over 3,000 applications received and 1,750 candidates signing up to express interest in future vacancies".
Chairperson Jeremy Godfrey received a salary of €250,272 while three senior members of staff received a salary between €180,000 and €190,000.
A further 18 staff received salaries between €100,000 and €120,000 while key management personnel shared €3.9m.
The €12.74m in staff costs for the 12 months of 2024 compares to €3.6m for the nine and a half months for 2023.
In 2024, Coimisiún na Meán spent €84,000 on an employee well-being programme.
This week Elon Musk's X was given leave to appeal a judgment dismissing a legal challenge brought by the platform against Coimisiún na Meán's Online Safety Code and the annual report shows that the regulator's legal bill soared from €1.63m to €5.8m in 2024.
The legal spend is made up of €2.95m for legal advice and €2.85m in legal proceedings and includes an estimate of liabilities that may arise to third parties, in respect of legal actions notified prior to year-end.
The commission's total spend on its operations for 2024 amounted to €30.9m compared to €11.44m for the prior nine month period.
Itn recorded a surplus of €10.6m after generating €41.52m in income that mainly comprises €28.03m in levy income and an Oireachtas grant of €11.8m.
The main source of levy income was €16.2m in designated online service levies while Coimisiún na Meángenerated €5.1m in audio-visual on-demand media service levies. The TV programme service levy raised €4m while the sound broadcasting levy raised €2.6m.
In 2024, Coimisiún na Meán received 93 broadcast and video on demand complaints compared to 45 for the prior nine month period.
Of the valid complaints received from March 2023 to December 2024, RTÉ broadcasts and video-on-demand services accounted for 77% of the complaints accepted.
The report states that LMFM accounted for 6% of the complaints accepted, Newstalk 106-108FM accounted for 4%, Virgin Media Television accounted for 2% and other regulated radio stations accounted for the remaining 11%.
The report states that the majority of complaints were about current affairs programmes and the most common topics/issues complained about were Irish Governance & Politics (13%), Conflict in Gaza (12%), Profanity, Sexism & Drug references (9%), Abortion (8%), LGBTQ+ (6%), Healthcare (4%) Animal Welfare (4%) and Immigration (3%).
Of the 61 decisions made on complaints, Coimisiún na Meán dismissed 49, referred 11 complaints on for further investigation and referred one complaint to the broadcaster for consideration under its code of Practice for Complaint Handling.
The report also discloses that through the Coimisiún na Meán Sound and Vision 4 grant scheme for broadcasters, assessment panels assessed 403 applications seeking just over €45m in total funding.
The report states that by the end of the year, the scheme had offered funding of €22.7m to support the production of 210 projects.
A note attached to the accounts discloses that CnM moved into new premises at 1 Shelbourne Buildings, Shelbourne Road, Dublin 4 in January 2024.
The note states that the commission signed a five-year lease with IPUT on June 15, 2023 for the D4 premises and the annual rent is €1.1m.
The premises is to serve as a temporary location until An Coimisiún finds permanent offices.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
