Suspended RTÉ Director General Dee Forbes has said that she had always prioritised what she believed were the best interests of RTÉ "in order to best serve the public".
In a statement issued this evening, she said: "This includes pursuing a difficult cost cutting agenda as part of implementing a wider strategic agenda, all while navigating the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic."
Ms Forbes said she is proud of her contribution to RTÉ during her time as Director General.
She also said that she has been "fully engaged" with the RTÉ Board since the issue of Ryan Tubridy's unpublished earnings emerged.
She said: "I have been fully engaged with the Board since this matter arose in the course of the audit of the accounts.
"When asked in April 2023, I participated in the review conducted by Grant Thornton to determine the full circumstances and facts surrounding two specific payments to fulfil a contractual obligation for the years 2021 and 2022.
"Yesterday was an extremely difficult day for all of us who care so deeply about the organisation and the impact of these issues is a matter of profound regret."
Ms Forbes was suspended from her employment by the RTÉ Board on Wednesday.
In a statement, the board said that there are "processes ongoing and RTÉ must be mindful of its legal responsibilities and the rights of individuals.
"RTÉ will not be commenting further on this issue at this time," the statement added.
In a statement this evening, Ryan Tubridy apologised "unreservedly" and said he takes responsibility for failing to ask questions over why RTÉ published incorrect figures about his earnings.
He said: "RTÉ's accounting treatment and publication of payments made to me between 2017 and 2022 contained serious errors.
"While I have no responsibility for the corporate governance in RTÉ or how or what they publish in their accounts, when my earnings were published I should have asked questions at the time and sought answers as to the circumstances which resulted in incorrect figures being published.
"I didn't, and I bear responsibility for my failure to do so. For this, I apologise unreservedly."
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RTÉ's interim Deputy Director General Adrian Lynch has said that he was not aware of the broadcaster making undisclosed payments to Mr Tubridy.
"I found this out last Monday," he told RTÉ Six One News.
"We were contacted by the Chair [of the RTÉ Board] and called an emergency meeting and we were given the details of what had occurred.
"I was deeply shocked, it's a massive breach of trust with the public. It's also a massive breach of trust with our staff.
"When people talk about the relationship between RTÉ and the public, this a corporate governance issue of significant proportions and RTÉ staff are outraged by this and have the public interest at the centre of their job everyday and I'm deeply saddened by that," Mr Lynch said.
It follows the revelations yesterday that RTÉ presenter Ryan Tubridy was paid €345,000 above his annual published salary over a period of several years.
The Minister for Media has said she was made aware of Ms Forbes suspension yesterday, but said she was told the RTÉ Board had to take legal advice before that information could be divulged to the public.
"I think for the sake of transparency, it is good that announcement has been made," Catherine Martin said.
Earlier, the former chair of the RTÉ Board, Moya Doherty, said that neither she nor other board members had "knowledge of any issue relating to certain payments" at the broadcaster and the "profoundly serious lack of transparency involved".
In a statement, Ms Doherty said that the matters "go to the heart of a failure of good corporate governance".
Ms Doherty said that she was not made aware of the issue relating to the payments to Mr Tubridy up until she concluded her term as chair in November 2022.
"I was not made aware of the issue relating to these payments," she said.
"I, and my colleagues on the Board, should have been comprehensively briefed on all aspects of the payments and the manner in which they were dealt with in the accounts.
"The issue did not emerge until after an audit of the 2022 accounts.
She said that the "reputation of RTÉ has sadly been damaged" and added that the situation is "deeply upsetting and unsettling for the many staff, in all aspects of the work of RTÉ who give their best to the national broadcaster with their talent and their commitment".
Asked about Ms Doherty's statement that the board was kept in the dark over payments to Mr Tubridy, Minister Martin said: "Part of what needs to happen is that wider transparency and governance issues need to be looked at here."
She said question marks remained on this.
Asked by RTÉ News why it did not identify and highlight the payments to Mr Tubridy until this year, RTÉ's auditor Deloitte Ireland said it is bound by client confidentiality and cannot comment on client matters.
