Tubridy concedes it is ‘touch and go’ whether he keeps RTÉ radio job
Mr Tubridy admitted that he is "not without blame" and said that he should have called out the incorrect figures that were reported on 20 January 2021. Picture: Oireachtas TV
Ryan Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly appeared before two Oireachtas committees today facing over six hours of questioning from the Public Accounts Committee and the media committee.
This morning, the pair told the PAC that at all times during the genesis of a commercial deal between Mr Tubridy, RTÉ, and Renault, they had been following RTÉ’s instructions.
Speaking at the media committee this evening, Mr Tubridy said that he could be "out of the job by Friday".
The RTÉ Radio presenter was responding to Fine Gael TD Allan Dillon who queried his current contract with the broadcaster.
The Director General of RTÉ says he hopes it will be known by the end of the month if Mr Tubridy returns to air.
Kevin Bakhurst said it is a serious decision the broadcaster will have to make in the next few weeks.
"We might need a little bit of time but I don't want it to be too long because it's not fair to Ryan, it's not fair to RTÉ but I want to talk to staff, I want to talk to my new leadership team," said Mr Bakhurst.
Mr Tubridy also said his good name has been dragged through the mud in recent weeks and strongly denies he was overpaid.
However, Mr Tubridy admitted that he is "not without blame" and said that he should have called out the incorrect figures that were reported on 20 January 2021.
Marie Sherlock referred to Mr Tubridy's sign-off on his programs during the pandemic, "Mind yourself and mind each other", and asked how he felt knowing his colleagues at RTÉ were facing pay cuts when he had a guarantee that he would not.
An emotional Mr Tubridy said that he did not want anyone to think that the words he said during the pandemic were insincere saying it came from "a special part of my heart".
Mr Tubridy went on to say that while he does receive a substantial salary, it does not change his soul.
Senator Shane Cassells said that he is "not buying" the claim by Mr Kelly that there was no indication that Mr Tubridy would not sign his 2020-2025 contract unless the commercial aspect was part of it.
Mr Kelly said that the two were separate agreements.
"The deal wasn't happening without the €75,000," said Mr Cassells.
Mr Tubridy denied the suggestion that he refused to sign the contract until the commercial deal was in place.
Mr Cassells asked whether there were offers on the table from other broadcasters in 2019.
An animated Mr Cassells said: "You keep saying that it was RTÉ that were coming with this and you weren't going looking for it.
In response, Mr Kelly said he assumes that RTÉ made the decision in an effort to keep one of their biggest sponsors - Renault - on board.
"Keeping Ryan Tubridy on board for another five years would equate to keeping the sponsor on," said Mr Kelly.
Speaking earlier in the session, Mr Tubridy said that in the future, should he continue working with RTÉ, he would be happy to have his contract and salary published each year.
"If RTÉ are going through a cathartic week, let this be part of it. I will offer that. I have nothing to hide," he said.
In a testy exchange with Independent TD Peter Fitzpatrick, Mr Tubridy denied the suggestion that he had engaged in deception.
The Louth TD said that people in his constituency were unhappy with Mr Tubridy and made reference to comments by the presenter this morning that he has received support from members of the public.
"Your dismissal of the good people of Ireland who have the kindness and courtesy to approach me on the street is something I don't appreciate", he said.
"In some ways, I wish I had brought them with me."
Speaking about the invoices raised for three €75,000 payments, Mr Tubridy said that it “strikes me as being unorthodox” that RTÉ paid two €75,000 payments to him after a sponsor pulled out of a tripartite deal.
“I’m not here to be critical of RTÉ. I’ve been working there since I was 12 years old, you know, it’s a very important place to me, but I have to defend myself,” he told the Media committee.
Fianna Fáil TD Christopher O'Sullivan questioned the invoicing of the €75,000 payments, saying: "It seems to be clear to everybody that there was some form of deception here with RTÉ and Mr Kelly using the term 'consultancy fees' and also using a company that had never been used before."
Responding to Mr Dillon on the same matter, Noel Kelly said the invoices paid to Astus were the first time he had dealt with any barter account.
"Are you washing your hands of it?" Mr Dillon asked the agent about how the matter was dealt with.
"Yes," responded Mr Kelly.
The agent repeated on a number of occasions: "We were acting under instruction". Mr Kelly said that he put his trust in RTÉ as the national broadcaster and as a large company.
He denied creating false invoices saying that they "raised exactly what was asked of us by RTÉ".
Fine Gael's Ciaran Cannon said that "RTÉ told me to" is not a credible response to the creation of what the TD termed "false invoicing".
"It was a false invoice for services that were never provided to a company you supposedly never heard of," said Mr Cannon.
Under questioning from Fine Gael Senator Micheál Carrigy, Mr Kelly declined to say whether he benefitted financially from the deal with Renault.
Mr Tubridy confirmed that he had not done any appearances in relation to Renault pre-2020.
With six appearances for Renault still outstanding, Mr Tubridy told the committee that if he is not called upon to do this work then the money for them would be returned "to Renault or whoever paid it".
He said he remains ready and willing to do the appearances he has been contracted and paid for.
The question was put to Mr Tubridy by a number of members why he was paid for appearances that had not yet been done.
There was a focus on mental health and wellbeing in the closing statements from Mr Kelly and Mr Tubridy.
In his closing statement, Mr Kelly said that his family and his business have been through a horrendous few weeks since RTÉ released its statement on June 22.
"Here is the interesting this about being an agent," Mr Kelly said.
"I am the only person that the people we represent have. I am the shop steward. Where is the care? Where is the duty of care to Ryan over the last three weeks? Who reached out to see how he was and his family?
For his closing remarks, Mr Tubridy paid tribute to the people working in RTÉ.
He said that the word 'talent' should not be used to refer to certain people working at the broadcaster as all members of staff are 'the talent' and no person is better than another.
Mr Tubridy also thanked his family and the members of the public who reached out to him in recent weeks and offered their support.
The former Late Late Show host expressed a desire to appear before the Oireachtas in the future to discuss mental health and both social and traditional media.
Mr Tubridy, who said his future at RTÉ is "touch and go at the moment", told the committee that the Toy Show Appeal will be his greatest legacy.
Senator Micheál Carrigy asked whether 100% of the funds raised by the Toy Show Appeal go to charities.
"It's one of the greatest legacies I'll have, even if I am given the royal order of the boot from RTÉ on Friday," the Toy Show presenter said.
"I'll be able to walk out of those gates with my head held high knowing that Irish people year in, year out, knowing that Irish people offered, year one €6m, year two €6m, year three €4m, out of their back pockets when things weren't going well.
"It is a beautiful thing and thank you to the Irish people"
At the PAC meeting, Mr Kelly was criticised by TDs for his handling of invoices for €75,000 payments due to Mr Tubridy for the years 2021 and 2022.
Fianna Fáil TD Paul McAuliffe asked Mr Kelly about the invoices raised for three €75,000 payments due to RTÉ, and how the first payment made by Renault had been treated differently to the following two.
“The invoices were raised with you, you have a fiduciary responsibility as director of your company. You raised two – for the same three payments – you raised them under different companies, and you raise them for different reasons, and invoiced them to different people.”
Mr Kelly replied: “We were under instruction, as you can see, ‘description from RTÉ’, ‘description from RTÉ’…”
He added: “Yeah, and they were sent under instruction to RTÉ, and we presumed that Renault were going to be paying this.”
Mr Tubridy told the PAC this morning that he was finding it hard to leave the house as he gave evidence to a committee over claims the broadcaster misreported fees paid to him.
In an extraordinary committee appearance, Mr Tubridy appeared emotional at times, and slammed his hand on the table during his opening statement.
He said he wishes to return as soon as possible to his weekday morning radio show “because it’s all I’ve got”.
“My name has been desperately sullied, I think my reputation has been sullied,” Mr Tubridy said, stating that he had been subjected to a “frenzy” and suggesting that he had been “cancelled”.
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