RTÉ has dramatically clawed its way out of the financial crisis that at one stage last year threatened the station's viability. A deficit of over €65m towards the end of 2008 was slashed to between €15m and €18m by the end of last year, according to the state broadcaster's annual results for 2009 which have yet to be published.

"Progress to reduce the shortfall between revenue and expenditure is also continuing this year," an RTÉ spokesman told the Sunday Tribune this weekend.

The RTÉ annual report is currently with the government and is expected to be published in the coming weeks.

The dramatic turnaround in the fortune of RTÉ's finances is in stark contrast to early last year when there was speculation the station faced bankruptcy.

It is also understood that current director general Cathal Goan, whose seven-year contract expires this autumn, is almost certain to be offered an extension to his contract of at least one or two years. The RTÉ board is said to feel that there is a premium to be earned in continuity in these turbulent times rather than searching for a new director general either within the organisation or abroad.

The news that RTÉ has managed to address its dwindling finances will be warmly welcomed by the station's 2,000-plus staff, including its 'stars' such as Ryan Tubridy, Pat Kenny and Joe Duffy, who were the first state employees in late 2008 to accept pay cuts of 5% to 17% as the recession gripped Montrose.

The cuts are due to be reviewed at the end of the year with the possibility that, finances permitting, pay levels will be restored to the pre-2008 level. The unions in RTÉ – Siptu and the Nuj, who agreed the pay cuts – will now have a strong case for restoration, but management is likely to insist the cuts remain for another year at least.