RTÉ's Interim Deputy Director General Adrian Lynch has told an Oireachtas Committee that presenter Ryan Tubridy remains on contract for RTÉ, but reiterated that "for editorial reasons...can't be on the air at the moment".
RTÉ representatives were again being questioned in relation to the ongoing payments controversy, and Mr Lynch was asked about the current contract for Mr Tubridy.
He said: "We are still paying Ryan Tubridy, and there are certainly elements of the contract that are in dispute with the agent."
Mr Lynch said that Mr Tubridy's contract for TV and radio services expired at the end of May and said the process of negotiating a contract for radio had been underway until all RTÉ contract negotiations were recently suspended.
When asked if there had been any development in the last week, Mr Lynch replied that "nothing has been done on that in the past week".
The committee earlier heard that Mr Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly did not refuse to take a pay cut, however there was disagreement over the level of pay cut.
The committee was hearing from Breda O'Keeffe, former Chief Financial Officer at RTÉ, who left the organisation in March 2020.
Forbes letter to Tubridy
Before today's committee meeting, TDs and Senators were forwarded a letter from the former Director General Dee Forbes wrote to Mr Tubridy in July 2020.
In the correspondence she assured Mr Tubridy then that the income set out in his 2020-2025 contract would be paid in full by RTÉ and he would not be asked to take a pay cut.
Mr Lynch told the committee that he was aware of Ms Forbes' letter guaranteeing that Mr Tubridy would not take a pay cut in his contract.
Renault arrangement
Fianna Fáil Senator Timmy Dooley asked about a document provided to the committee on a three-way deal between RTÉ, Ryan Tubridy and Renault over an arrangement from October 2020 to 31 December 2021.
He said it was signed by someone on behalf of Mr Tubridy and dated 21 April 2023, 15 April 2021 by Renault, but not signed by RTÉ at all.
He asked: "How in the name of God can that be the case?"
RTÉ's Commercial Director Geraldine O’Leary said she "should have signed it" on behalf of the national broadcaster.
Asked by Mr Dooley why a figure of €75,000 is not mentioned in the document, Ms O’Leary said it was because a credit note had already been raised.
"The dates also are quite confusing because obviously everything ran on."
Mr Dooley said that, "in truth", the document was not a contract because it did not include a price.
Commerical arrangement
Former RTÉ Chief Financial Officer Breda O'Keefe said there was a "risk of potential cost exposure" if the commercial arrangement in Mr Tubridy's contract was not fulfilled.
Ms O'Keefe told the Media Committee that there was no consideration of the broadcaster underwriting a commercial agreement involving Mr Tubridy and Renault before she left in early 2020.
She told the committee that the first she heard of RTÉ's decision to underwrite the deal - a move that resulted in RTÉ paying €150,000 to Mr Tubridy when Renault did not renew the arrangement in 2021 and 2022 - was through media reports in recent weeks.
"My recollection is that Mr Tubridy's agent requested that the commercial agreement be underwritten by RTÉ and this was refused," she said.
"This continued to be my position and, as far as I was aware, that of the Director General, the head of content and RTÉ solicitor up to the date of my departure from RTÉ in March 2020.
"I was not aware any guarantee had issued until I heard about it last week in the media reports."
She added: "When I left in March 2020, an RTÉ guarantee on the proposed Renault agreement was not on offer, as far as I was aware."
RTÉ Chief Financial Officer Richard Collins told the committee that he was aware that "RTÉ was trying to conclude an arrangement to boost Ryan Tubridy's earnings" but he was not "aware of the details of the contract".
He said the pandemic had just hit at the time and RTÉ had dropped €7 million in income.
"We were heading towards running out of cash," he said.
"I was totally focused on preserving jobs and negotiating with the government. That was my clear focus.
"This commercial agreement was being handled by the DG - I concluded the straight forward part of the deal. I had bigger issues to deal with.
"On 30 April it was confirmed there would be no indemnity given to the deal. That was the last I heard of it. It was news to me that the guarantee was given."
Interim Deputy DG Adrian Lynch said notes show that in a subsequent meeting between the then director general, an in house solicitor, agent Noel Kelly and another representative from his agency, a commitment to underwrite the agreement was given.
Under questioning from Alan Dillon, he said the note recording the meeting is under legal privilege and cannot be released to the committee.
He added that when former RTÉ director general Dee Forbes provided that guarantee, "it was a commercial decision with a risk and she is within her rights to do that". He described her as a "person of integrity".
Tubridy and Kelly make written offer to help committee
Earlier, Mr Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly offered to help the Oireachtas Committee on Media next week with its inquiries into the non-disclosure of payments at RTÉ.
It is unclear what format will apply, whether it will be a public or private session of the committee.
The two men made the offer in a letter to the committee this week.
Members of the RTÉ Executive and Board are facing questions at the media committee after a review of the organisation's finances found a number of further barter accounts.
This is the type of account at the centre of the controversy over undisclosed payments to presenter Mr Tubridy.
Today, Mr Collins said that there is one barter account "in terms of how it is looked at financially" but three companies are feeding into it.
Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Media Niamh Smyth said it is "deeply disappointing" that the information given last week about barter accounts in RTÉ was "inaccurate".
A spokesperson for Minister for Media Catherine Martin said this morning that the Chair of the RTÉ Board, Siún Ní Raghallaigh, "spoke to the minister last night to inform her that the board had met yesterday evening because further issues had come to light.
"She advised that legal advice was being sought and told the minister that she would speak to her again today, once that that advice has been received, and ahead of today's Joint Oireachtas Committee hearing."
RTÉ told politicians at the committee that from 2012 to 2022 it generated €1.65 billion in commercial income and €1.6 million of barter account revenue was used for client entertainment and hospitality.
It said it is obliged to maximise its commercial revenue in a competitive market place.
Documents released to the Oireachas committee also reveal the pay but not the names of the top 100 earners in RTÉ.
The highest wage is €515,000 and the salary ranked 100 comes in at just under €117,000.
Among the best paid, 31 people are presenters, 59 are managers and ten are executives.
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Additional reporting Mícheál Lehane
