RTÉ Director General Dee Forbes has tendered her resignation with immediate effect, following ongoing controversy over undisclosed payments to broadcaster Ryan Tubridy.
In a statement this morning, Ms Forbes said she has "engaged with and consistently co-operated with" the processes directed towards answering questions surrounding payments to Mr Tubridy.
She said that as Director General, she was the person "ultimately accountable for what happens within the organisation".
"I take that responsibility seriously. I am tendering my resignation to RTÉ with immediate effect," she wrote.
The board of the national broadcaster said last week that between 2017 and 2022, Mr Tubridy received a series of payments totalling €345,000 above his annual published salary.
Ms Forbes said that she is "deeply sorry for what has happened and my part in this episode and for that I apologise unreservedly to everyone".
She said that she cares "very deeply" about RTÉ, as well as "the people who work for it, the public it serves, its mission, values, its unique position as a public service broadcaster and its reputation".
The RTÉ Board said it had accepted her resignation.
It said that representatives of the board and executive will be attending the Joint Oireachtas Committee and Public Accounts Committee this week.
The board also said that RTÉ would issue a "comprehensive statement setting out its understanding of the circumstances surrounding the misstating of Ryan Tubridy's earnings across the 2020-2022 period" tomorrow afternoon.
It said the "circumstances that led to the misstatement of Ryan Tubridy's earnings from 2017-2019 are separately being reviewed by Grant Thornton and therefore will not be included in tomorrow's statement".
Ms Forbes' decision to resign follows days of controversy surrounding the undisclosed payments.
Last week, RTÉ admitted that it paid Mr Tubridy hundreds of thousands of euro more over a period of several years than it declared to the public and to the Oireachtas.
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The payments to Mr Tubridy were uncovered after the company's auditors alerted the board to some of the transactions.
Ms Forbes was suspended from her employment by the RTÉ Board last Wednesday. She was due to step down from the role in July.
The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste have said that Ms Forbes should appear before Oireachtas committees this week.
Incoming RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst has confirmed that he was not involved in any negotiations with Noel Kelly (NK Management) regarding Mr Tubridy's remuneration while he was Acting Director General in 2016.
Asked by RTÉ's News at One to clarify if he had any knowledge of, or participation in, any negotiations with Mr Kelly regarding Mr Tubridy's remuneration as Acting DG, he said: "The answer to that is no, to the very best of my knowledge and memory."
Mr Bakhurst said he served as RTÉ's Acting Director General from April to July 2016 and for a couple of spells of a few weeks before that.
He also confirmed that his response also covered his time as RTÉ Deputy Director General.
Mr Bakhurst added that he was aware that RTÉ was in negotiations over Mr Tubridy's then new radio slot. But, he said, he was not involved in those negotiations.
The Chair of the Oireachtas Media Committee, Niamh Smyth, said she still expects that Ms Forbes will attend a hearing this Wednesday.
'Not treated with fairness'
In her statement this morning, Ms Forbes said that she feels the RTÉ Board has not treated her with "anything approaching the levels of fairness, equity and respect that anyone should expect as an employee, a colleague or a person".
"All of this has had a very serious and ongoing impact on my health and wellbeing," she said.
Ms Forbes said that in her role as Director General, she led the discussions with the agent for Mr Tubridy together with other RTÉ senior executives. Ms Forbes added that they were keen to make a "cost saving for RTÉ in respect of a contractual payment which was due to be paid".
At the same time, she said, they were attempting to retain Mr Tubridy's services as "a valued presenter and negotiate a new contract, with the agreed 15% cost-cutting target in mind".
"In an effort to find a solution to the budgetary challenges, we explored if a long serving commercial partner might take on a commercial relationship directly with Ryan Tubridy.
"Following detailed discussions including numerous internal communications over many months with RTÉ colleagues, including finance and legal colleagues, an agreement was reached which delivered cost savings for RTÉ," Ms Forbes added.
"This agreement meant that the commercial partner would enter into a separate commercial contract with Ryan Tubridy for €75k in exchange for the provision of three events annually."
Ms Forbes said that as a result of the negotiated cost-saving agreement, RTÉ would "no longer be liable for a contractual payment that was due in 2020".
She added that this new commercial agreement required that RTÉ "guarantee and underwrite the €75K payments".
"The commercial partner agreed to this new business relationship with Ryan Tubridy, but they required the change to be cost neutral, as they were in the final year of a three-year sponsorship contract and this was done by issuing a credit note for €75k against their airtime," the statement added.
"I did not at any stage act contrary to any advice. Unfortunately, the pandemic restrictions meant that the commitment to the commercial client could not be met in 2020 and 2021 and was only delivered in 2022.
"The commercial partner informed us that the commercial arrangement was not going to work for them in the long term. At this point, only one €75k payment had been made."
Ms Forbes' statement added that payment was sought for the 2021 and 2022 contractual commitments "that now fell to RTÉ under the guarantee even though RTÉ had never expected to become liable for them and had not budgeted for them".
"Because of the commercial nature of the arrangement, it was decided to pay the invoices from the commercial barter account which was in credit. We were motivated purely by the need to find a solution to honour the contractual obligation," Ms Forbes said.
"At all times, I and the representatives of RTÉ acted in good faith. I fully accept and acknowledge responsibility for my part in these events as Director General.
"This statement is directed to the events of 2020-2022," she added.
Ms Forbes added that she understands from media reports and RTÉ’s statement that the broadcaster's board has raised questions concerning payments to Mr Tubridy between 2017 to 2019. "I have no knowledge of those payments and the board has not raised those questions with me," she said.
External review announced by Minister for Media
On Saturday, Minister for Media Catherine Martin announced an independent external review of corporate governance at the station.
Unions at RTÉ welcomed the announcement with the NUJ saying any review must be transparent and done in a timely manner.
However, NUJ Irish Secretary Séamus Dooley warned that the external investigation "should not be used as a reason to further delay the wider reform of public service broadcasting in Ireland".
RTÉ's Trade Union Group said it looked forward to the publication of terms of reference and to engaging fully in the review in the interest of members.
Minister Martin said that what had transpired was "shocking" and had done untold damage to RTÉ's reputation.
Details on who will lead the external review and its remit will be finalised in the coming days.
The minister also said that the Government had paused the review of RTÉ's future funding.
Since this controversy emerged, the focus remains on getting answers from the relevant people. The minister said that should include Ms Forbes and everyone else who is invited to engage with these committees on the issues at RTÉ.
