RTÉ employees feel 'betrayed' as unions slam payments to Tubridy

Ryan Tubridy: 'When my earnings were published I should have asked questions.' Picture: Gareth Chaney/ Collins Photos

With its star performer grounded, director general suspended, board in turmoil, and staff in open revolt, the controversy over the secret €345,000 payments to Ryan Tubridy threatens to engulf the national broadcaster.

In an extraordinary 24 hours for RTÉ, it emerged:

• The director general of RTÉ, Dee Forbes, had been suspended by the board on Wednesday night;
• Ryan Tubridy will not be allowed back on the airwaves next week;
• Culture Minister Catherine Martin will hold talks with RTÉ board chairwoman Siún Ní Raghallaigh today to discuss the crisis rocking the broadcaster;
• After an extraordinary union meeting, RTÉ staff said they felt “betrayed”;
• Deputy director general Adrian Lynch admitted “significant reputational damage” had been done.

In his second statement of two days after a Grant Thorton investigation uncovered the extent of the hidden payments over five years, Ryan Tubridy "apologised unreservedly" for not asking questions when RTÉ published incorrect figures for his earnings.

In a statement, Mr Tubridy 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."

The payment scandal had no bearing on his decision to leave the Late Late Show last month, he said.

Ryan Tubridy on the set of The Late Late Show in 2020. Picture: Andres Poveda

Embattled director general Dee Forbes also issued a statement saying: "I have been fully engaged with the [RTÉ] 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.” 

However, Ms Forbes, who was already due to step down from her role next month, did not address the key issues at the centre of the controversy — how the 'specific payments" had come about, whether she was aware of them, and whether she had signed off on them.

RTÉ director general Dee Forbes has been suspended amid a controversy over the salary paid to star presenter Ryan Tubridy. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

RTÉ’s pleas to Government for increased funding may now fall on deaf ears following Thursday’s revelations that Mr Tubridy was paid €345,000 more than had been publicly declared between 2017 and 2022.

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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said on Friday that he was "very concerned" about the contents of the RTÉ statement and the suspension of Ms Forbes.

“On the face of it, there has been a serious breach of trust and truth between RTÉ and the Government, the Oireachtas and the people," said Mr Varadkar.

Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley, who chairs the public accounts committee, has formally called for Ms Forbes to appear before it and give "an immediate and full examination of the hidden and undisclosed payments".

Union reaction

Meanwhile, unions at the broadcaster have slammed the secret payments.

“RTÉ should be a model of best practice in regard to employment, corporate governance, industrial relations and public procurement,” a statement from RTÉ’s branch of the National Union of Journalists, read.

"The concept of secret third-party contracts and special arrangements is incompatible with the concept of public service broadcasting.

We want to know who signed off on these secret payments and who knew about them.

“We want those responsible to be held to account.” 

Emma O'Kelly, an RTÉ journalist who chairs the Dublin Broadcasting Branch of the NUJ, said that members at Friday's extraordinary union meeting spoke of how devastated, ashamed, betrayed and angered they were.

"Our members have worked extremely hard to earn and maintain the trust of the Irish public. That trust is something we value and respect hugely,” Ms O'Kelly said.

“They are devastated to see the hard-earned goodwill of the public undermined as a result of this scandal.

"We will continue to do our jobs to the best of our ability, and that includes holding RTÉ to the same standards that the public expects of any publicly-funded body. We demand that our viewers and listeners are treated with respect, and we want that respect extended also to staff at RTÉ.’’ 

The NUJ welcomed the planned independent inquiry, but called for an end to what members see as a culture of secrecy surrounding pay, pensions, and perks at the organisation.

Ms O'Kelly told RTÉ News that lower-paid journalists and researchers are "slogging away behind the scenes" to make "people like Ryan Tubridy look good".