A report by Grant Thornton has found a plausible explanation for the under-declaration of presenter Ryan Tubridy's earnings in 2017, 2018 and 2019 by €120,000 was RTÉ’s objective to achieve a position where his earnings for each year were below €500,000.
The report says that Mr Tubridy had no involvement in the adjustments made by the broadcaster in 2020 to his published earnings totalling €120,000 for the 2017-2019 period.
The analysis concludes that the adjustments had the effect of causing his published earnings in each of the years to change to an amount below €500,000 from an amount above that figure and it was these lower amounts that RTÉ published in January 2021.
It finds that there was no financial benefit made or gain to the broadcaster or Mr Tubridy arising from the 2020 adjustments.
The report states that the adjustments made by RTÉ in June of this year to restate the published earnings of the presenter for the 2017-2019 period were appropriate and that the previously published earnings had been understated.
It also finds that a payment of €120,000, which Mr Tubridy was entitled to as an exit fee for his 2015 contract, was not made by RTÉ as the presenter waived the entitlement.
The report found that Mr Tubridy had "no involvement" in the understating of his salary by €120,000.
It supports a decision by the board to publish the presenter's correct earnings in June of this year, in relation to the period 2017 to 2019.
The report also finds that payments to Mr Tubridy on RTÉs internal payments system were correct.
Grant Thornton Partner Paul Jacobs, who conducted the investigation, said he had found no spreadsheet or workings that provide a specific calculation that supports each of the adjustments by the broadcaster of €20,000 in 2017, €50,000 in 2018, and €50,000 in 2019.
Mr Jacobs said he has concluded that on the balance of probabilities there were several failures that significantly contributed to the incorrect publication of the incorrect earnings for the period.
He also confirms that, as per an interim report issued last month, there were no other errors in the figures published by RTÉ for Mr Tubridy's earnings from 2008 to 2016.
Mr Jacobs said that for the period from 2020 to 2022 he also found no other issues with the presenter's published earnings, apart from the €75,000 issue that RTÉ has adjusted for already.
The report notes that there were "differing views expressed by some individuals" who contributed to the review.
It also states that former director general Dee Forbes did not take part in the review due to "medical reasons". Director of Content Jim Jennings also did not take part in the review.
The report considers a so-called "off set" between the €120,000 fee due to Mr Tubridy on expiry of his 2015 contract and the value of additional services that were contained in that contract but were not sought by RTÉ or provided by the presenter.
Mr Jacobs said there was a view during negotiations around Mr Tubridy's new 2020 contract that there was to be a trade-off of the two issues.
But he finds that no refund was actually due to RTÉ for additional services that the presenter was contracted to provide during the period but did not.
He also acknowledged that Mr Tubridy waived his entitlement to the exit fee of €120,000.
"Whilst it may have been the case that the RTÉ negotiating team had an expectation as a negotiation strategy/tactic that a refund could be achieved, I am informed that RTÉ had no legal entitlement to a refund, and none was agreed as part of the negotiations held over 2019/2020 for the new agreement," the report states.
The draft agreement or side letter did incorporate proposed terms of this set-off, the report adds, but it concludes that on the balance of probabilities this is not what was agreed.
Mr Jacobs said that RTÉ had no legal entitlement to a refund from Ryan Tubridy or his company, Tuttle, for undelivered services.
In a statement, Deloitte said only that it had engaged extensively with the authors of the report and that its position is set out in the text of the report.
Read more
The Grant Thornton report in full
RTÉ admits paying Tubridy €345,000 more than declared
Bakhurst meets Ryan Tubridy for one-to-one meeting
Tubridy not being paid by RTÉ until new 'level' agreed
In an email to staff, RTÉ Chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh said the report identified "poor internal communication and weak processes".
She said it also suggests "a hypothesis that on the balance of probabilities adjustments were made for the years 2017, 2018 and 2019 in order to allow for 'revised earnings' below a figure of €500,000 in each year".
The report found dates whereby "errors could have been corrected but were not".
Ms Ní Raghallaigh said the report made it "clear" that the then executive "did not properly engage with the board on these matters".
Mr Tubridy said in a statement that he welcomed the report's findings and was "committed to re-establishing the confidence and trust" of both his "colleagues and listeners".
Director General Kevin Bakhurst said that "clearly, operational failures identified within the RTÉ finance function significantly contributed to the misstatement of fees paid".
In a statement, he said "these failures" cannot "be repeated" and the focus of the Interim Leadership Team "is on implementing the recommendations of the corporate governance advisor, as well as progressing with the implementation of other systemic reforms, such as the register of interests".
Minister for Media Catherine Martin said the report "highlights further lapses in governance and failure of proper internal controls and processes" within RTÉ.
In a statement, Ms Martin described the findings as "deeply concerning".
She said she has spoken to the chair and "stressed the need for RTÉ to act with urgency to address these lapses and ensure that robust processes are put in place without delay".
TV licence income falls again
Meanwhile, the latest figures show that RTÉ suffered another steep fall in TV licence revenue with sales falling by nearly €900,000 in the second week of August, compared with the same week last year.
TV licence sales for the second week of August were 7,166 compared to 12,610 for the corresponding week in 2022, which is a drop of 43%.
The plunge in licence fee sales amounts to €871,000.
In total, TV licence revenue is down nearly €4.6m since the broadcaster has been engulfed in controversy over payments to Mr Tubridy.
RTÉ receives the vast majority of TV licence fee revenue at nearly 90% of sales.
Additional reporting Tommy Meskill
