RTÉ broadcaster Miriam O'Callaghan has said that she wants to "put on record" that her most recently published fee from RTÉ is correct.
In a statement, Ms O'Callaghan said: "For the purpose of transparency, honesty and clarity, I want to put on the record that my most recently published fee from RTÉ - €263,500 - is correct, as are the published fees for previous years.
"I have never received additional payments from RTÉ that were not publicly declared."
Her statement comes after it emerged that between 2017 and 2022, broadcaster Ryan Tubridy received a series of payments totalling €345,000 above his annual published salary.
Ms O'Callaghan said there is profound shock, anger and sadness among everyone working at RTÉ and all journalists can do is cover the story as rigorously as they cover every other story.
I never sought or been offered a side deal, says Claire Byrne
Earlier today, RTÉ broadcaster Claire Byrne said that she "never sought, been offered or discussed any kind of commercial or side deal" and that no other payment exists or has ever existed beyond her published fee.
Ms Byrne aid that the fee that has been published for her most recently is correct, "as are those published in the past".
She also stated that her absence from radio last week was due to a planned family trip and not linked to the ongoing controversy regarding undisclosed payments.
Ms Byrne said she learned of the situation regarding payments to Ryan Tubridy at the same time as "everyone else".
Speaking at the start of her radio programme this morning, she said that she had "no prior warning, no inkling that there was a problem on the horizon".
"My most recent published fee was €350,000. This was the fee agreed by RTÉ, for me to present this radio programme and Claire Byrne Live and as you know, I decided not to continue with that television show for personal and family reasons," she said.
"And so, in order to be fully transparent with you, I want you to know that my RTÉ fee now is €280,000 and that fee is for presenting this programme."
Ms Byrne said that that last contract was negotiated by Noel Kelly.
She added that she recently presented the television quiz show, Ireland's Smartest and for that, she was paid a separate fee of €25,000. That contract was negotiated by other members of the NK Management company, she said.
"I acknowledge that fee is significant and way beyond what many people could hope to earn. There are others who will, no doubt, have more to say about it I am sure, but my personal decision here this morning is to be open and honest with you," she said.
Ms Byrne said she listened to Friday's Liveline and the callers who spoke about "being disappointed and they talked about trust being broken and the importance of transparency".
"For me, and for the great people I work with every day on this show, hearing that is nothing short of heartbreaking," she said.
"As programme-makers, our aim is to be consistent, fair, and professional and to respect the hard-earned trust that you, the audience, has in us."
With that fee that she earns, she said, comes "a duty for me to treat this position with respect and I hope that you can trust me and the team of journalists I work with, to cover this story with the same rigour and balance as we would any other story on this programme".
Her comments come after RTÉ's Director General Dee Forbes tendered her resignation with immediate effect.
Speaking on his radio programme Liveline, presenter Joe Duffy also clarified his own payments.
In a conversation with a caller, Mr Duffy said: "The last figures published for me were €351,000, OK? €300,000 of that is for radio and €51,000 is for whatever they ask me to do on television."
He said his contract was recently extended on the same terms and his contract will continue to 2025.
Mr Duffy also added that he was not in receipt of payment from sponsors.
He said: "I’ve never been offered, never requested, never received, never been involved in any outside, what’s on my contract, the figures that are on my contract are the exact figures that I receive."
