Two Dublin pensioners have walked away from their beloved community radio shows after they were asked to pay a members charge to volunteer at the station.
John Healy worked with Near FM, which serves the Dublin North East area, for around 10 years, first coming to the station on a CE scheme before working there on a voluntary basis for the last four years.
The 69-year-old told Dublin Live that the station brought in a rule recently asking volunteers to join a media co-op at a cost of €5 a month.
Read More: Wine 'under threat' as prices set to drastically increase
John and his colleague Noel McGuinness said that they both left their roles in March of this year after they were asked for this money.
Mr Healy said: “I got an email from an administrator to say this and I said that I was already working for free of charge, I'm giving my time for free and I don't see why I should pay to do that.
"I said if I have to go, I have to go. I’m not paying to volunteer.
“He started comparing it to a GAA club saying if I was in one or a Men’s Shed that I’d have to pay a fee. But that’s a completely different thing.
“This is a community radio station and I’m providing a service. He should be paying me.
“There was no point in me hanging around to give these people time to replace me so I gave my key back and I was off.”
John was disappointed to leave his listeners as he truly loved being on the radio but as a pensioner he decided that he needs to use his money on more essential goods like food and heating.
“When you do a show you make contacts, you don’t like leaving them so I kept it up. Parents, local people were phoning in so I wanted to keep in contact with them,” he added.
Noel McGuinness quit a week after John because of the new rule brought in.
The man, who turns 79 this year, told Dublin Live: “It’s to do with principle. I worked there for 27 years and I’m retired now. I’ve heard of PAYE but not PAYW, Pay as you Work.
Read more: Jet ski crashes into O'Connell Bridge
“This all happened a couple of weeks ago. I did all the outside broadcasts. I did a festival in St. Anne’s Park, I’d the van, we went out and we did it. I did Blooms every year in Phoenix Park too.
“I did two shows a week after I retired, Tuesday and Thursday, 11:00am until 1:00pm. It was mostly interviews. I never missed a day. The more I think about it, the more irritated and disappointed I am that I was treated like that.
“I do miss the work, I miss the interviews, it kept my mind active during Covid. I was looking for stories, something different all the time, politics, general news, the diversity was great.”
A spokesman from Near FM told Dublin Live that the station was willing to offer a cheaper membership rate of 50c per week if people could not afford to pay €5 per month and would still be happy to have both men back.
They said: “Near FM is a not-for-profit members’ co-operative and charity.
“A members’ monthly charge was introduced with the vast majority of members in favour of this.
“The small monthly sum helps us to pay bills and be a little less reliant on grants and other funds. The charge is usually €5 per month but can be less if a person cannot afford €5.
"This is common practice in community media in Ireland and around the world."
He added: "There was a meeting in 2020 which everyone was invited to with membership fee on the agenda, and it was discussed and there was broad agreement.
"With issues like radio advertising falling drastically, the co-op were looking for other ways to build a sustainable funding model.
"Ultimately, they chose to leave, and as far as I understand, it was a matter of principle. But even now they could still come back and talk to us about a way forward."
Read More: Vogue Williams' mum reveals the one item of clothing she would never wear
Read More: Finglas woman raises funds for hospitals after fiance loses battle to cancer
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox
