skip to main content

Tubridy not being paid by RTÉ until new 'level' agreed

Ryan Tubridy has been off-air for three weeks
Ryan Tubridy has been off-air for three weeks

RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst has told the Public Accounts Committee that Ryan Tubridy is currently not being paid by the station until a new pay 'level' is agreed.

Mr Tubridy, who has been off-air since the payments story broke on 22 June, told the committee earlier this week that he was still being paid by RTÉ.

However, when asked today if any salary was currently being paid to Mr Tubridy, Mr Bakhurst said: "As of this week, no. Because we need to agree what the level of that is."

Director of Legal Affairs Paula Mullooly said RTÉ's view is that Mr Tubridy's contract is at an end, but said that Mr Tubridy's agent Noel Kelly clearly disputes that.

Mr Bakhurst said there will be a fair process in place as he prepares to decide Mr Tubridy's future in RTÉ.

He said he would have to do what is right for the licence payer and RTÉ when making that decision.

Kevin Bakhurst said there will be a fair process in place as he prepares to decide Ryan Tubridy's future in RTÉ

This is the last day of the Dáil term but it is unlikely to be the last time politicians will ask questions about RTÉ.

The committee heard from Mr Bakhurst that RTÉ received an invoice from Ryan Tubridy's agent this week but it has not yet been paid.

However, after the committee meeting, RTÉ issued a statement stating: "For clarification, while Kevin Bakhurst stated in today's PAC meeting that he had seen the invoice from NK Management for Ryan Tubridy this week, the invoice was received by RTÉ in June."

At the PAC hearing, RTÉ's Director General spoke about Ryan Tubridy's offer to pay back €150,000 paid to him by RTÉ last year.

He said there were legal but also moral considerations and he will wait and see what Mr Tubridy does about this.

RTÉ rejected key points in the evidence presented by Ryan Tubridy's agent Noel Kelly this week.

RTÉ's Interim Deputy Director General Adrian Lynch said the presenter's main TV and Radio contract would not have been signed without the commercial agreement with Renault.

Plus Mr Lynch said that Mr Kelly pursued €150,000 in payments despite knowing that the contract with Renault was no longer in place.

That meant RTÉ had to pay out the money; it is a payment that Ryan Tubridy has now offered to return.

Adrian Lynch claimed that a newly discovered email shows that Noel Kelly and Dee Forbes were in direct contact in April 2022 and discussed the invoices for the two €75,000 payments, which were paid in the months that followed.

We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

Follow live updates from the Public Accounts Committee
O'Keeffe exit package 'not signed off by executive'
RTÉ to stop purchases against barter account
RTÉ payments controversy 'shameful' and 'damaging' - DG

Forbes reversed decision not to underwrite Tubridy side deal pay


Mr Bakhurst told the committee: "As I understand it, the latest invoice came in this week and my advice is we need to decide exactly what we're paying him because he's not doing his past duties any more, so that's currently a process going on."

RTÉ's Director General, who said he had not spoken to Mr Tubridy this week, said there will be a "fair process" around a decision on his future at the broadcaster and they had to do "what is right for RTÉ".

Asked what salary Mr Tubridy is being paid, Mr Bakhurst said: "We'll have to continue discussions with Mr Tubridy's agent about that because clearly he's not doing his TV programme any more.

"He should be available for radio so we have not settled on exactly what he should be being paid at the moment, but we'll be paying the appropriate amount once we've confirmed."

Mr Bakhurst said that Mr Tubridy had not been asked to pay back the €150,000 he received from RTÉ as part of the tripartite commercial agreement.

He said there were legal and moral matters to consider, but he welcomed Mr Tubridy's commitment to pay back the money on Tuesday.

Mr Bakhurst said: "There's two things here for me: there's a legal agreement and RTÉ has a liability.

"Then, I think there's a moral question about what's the right thing to do and I think when we do come to have any discussions with Mr Tubridy going forward - I welcomed his offer the other day and we'll wait and see what he does about it."

Interim Deputy Director General Adrian Lynch also said the organisation had not asked for the money to be returned because there was a verbal agreement given to his agent that it would pay the money.

Mr Lynch said Mr Tubridy is an "utterly decent person" and that he and The Late Late Show were "undoubtedly commercially important" to RTÉ.

However, he said a suggestion by Mr Tubridy's agent that the presenter had brought in €100m in commercial revenue "seems high".

Mr Lynch said "the wheels came off the bus" in relation to paying Mr Tubridy through a barter account in relation to the tripartite agreement.

Mr Bakhurst said no legal papers have been served on the broadcaster on behalf of Mr Tubridy amid the payments controversy.

He was responding to questioning from Sinn Féin TD John Brady, and this was supported by Mr Lynch.

However, Director of Legal Affairs Paula Mullooly said: "As a matter of principle, RTÉ does not comment on legal matters."

There was laughter in the chamber as Mr Brady followed up with Mr Lynch and Mr Bakhurst, who again confirmed no legal papers had been served.

Additional reporting Mícheál Lehane