Joe Duffy sees cash pile increase to €215,000

The cash pile at the media firm owned by one of RTÉ’s top earners, Joe Duffy, climbed to almost €215,000 last year.

New figures lodged with the Companies Office by Duffy’s media firm, Claddaghgreen Ltd, show that the company increased its cash by €45,704 from €168,320 to €214,024.

The figures show that the firm’s accumulated profits in the year to the end of April 30, 2014 increased from €135,254 to €149,561.

The latest JNLR figures show Duffy’s Liveline is the second most popular radio programme in the country behind Morning Ireland, with listeners totalling 378,000 in the latest period, with the show laying claim to having the most listened-to segment of any radio show in the country between 1.45 and 2pm each week day.

Each year, the show generates substantial advertising revenues for the State broadcaster but RTÉ does not provide a breakdown of advertising revenues generated by each show.

In 2013, RTE confirmed that Duffy — who recently celebrated his 59th birthday — agreed to a further pay cut to bring his salary to €300,000, down from €378,000 in 2011 when he was RTÉ’s fourth-highest paid presenter behind Ryan Tubridy, Marian Finucane, and Pat Kenny.

The abridged accounts do not provide the revenues recorded during the year.

Duffy’s firm had creditors totalling €64,460 falling within one year, with the firm’s net assets standing at €149,564. The directors of the firm are Joe Duffy and his wife, June Meehan.

Born in Dublin in 1956, Duffy joined RTÉ Radio as a producer in 1989. He then worked as a reporter on The Gay Byrne Show and as presenter of several programmes, including the media review Soundbyte.

His income is also boosted by his weekly column for the Irish Mail on Sunday.

Duffy’s 2011 autobiography revealed his “insecurity and worry” at being told by RTÉ he was not entitled to sick pay as he is not directly employed by the station but is a contractor.

He was told of the development prior to undergoing a second operation on a severely broken leg.

He wrote: “In my 23 years in RTÉ, I only took one single day off sick prior to being knocked down, so I thought the decision to refuse me sick pay was unfair.”