In a statement today, RTÉ said the tender was being suspended “following last week’s announcement of a recruitment freeze and stopping all discretionary spending”.

The broadcaster said it “will pause and take time to review the volume of photography required and length of contract, among other considerations.”

A revised tender for photography on the Fair City set will be issued once these decisions have been made.

Plans announced earlier this week would have seen a photographer earn “a maximum of €60,000 per annum, or €240,000 over four years”.

The photographer would have worked an average of 20 hours per week over the course of three days per week and delivered “a minimum of 16 approved photograph stills in both high and low resolution to Fair City each week, for 50 weeks per year, as specified by RTÉ”.

RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst said: “Given the steep fall in the licence fee and the uncertainty over interim funding, and following last week’s announcements, we have decided to halt the current tender process for Fair City photography.”

It is anticipated the shortfall in TV licence fee payments will stand at €21m by the end of the year.

“While quality professional photography is essential to enable us to promote our programmes and engage audiences, it is not possible for RTÉ to commit to a four-year contract or to this level of spend given the challenges we now face,” Mr Bakhurst said.

“So, we have decided to take time to consider the best way to balance the needs of the series with the need to reduce costs where we can.

“We will continue to explore how we can cut costs and maximise funding of our public services through commercial revenue, while also working hard to restore trust in RTÉ.”

Mr Bakhurst said on Wednesday he “can’t believe” the salary that was being offered for photography on the show.

Earlier this week, Fair City executive producer Bridie de Courcy said: “I cannot overstate the importance of high-quality, highly curated photography in promoting Fair City in the busy landscape of press and digital publicity.

“It is vital to have a skilled photographer to capture, in single frames, moments of drama that will intrigue our regular audience, and bring new viewers to Fair City,” she said.