Tubridy hits back at being made 'poster boy' for RTÉ scandal

Tubridy told politicians that he had been dragged into a controversy not of his making, which left him reluctant to leave his house, and had cost him both personally and professionally. Picture: Oireachtas Tv

Ryan Tubridy’s future at RTÉ will be decided in the coming weeks, after he hit back at being made a “poster boy” for the broadcaster’s failures.

While the former Late Late Show host told an Oireachtas committee he could be “out of a job by Friday”, his boss, the station’s new director general Kevin Bakhurst insisted this would not be the case.

“There’ll be no decision this week about Ryan. It’s a big decision for ourselves, for Ryan. I need to talk to some members of staff about it, talk to the new leadership team," Mr Bakhurst said.

In an extraordinary appearance before the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and Oireachtas Media Committee, an occasionally emotional Mr Tubridy banged the desk as he outlined his desire to stay at RTÉ, but admitted it is “touch and go”.

On a number of occasions said he fears his time at RTÉ — which he first joined at the age of 12 — could soon be over.

He told politicians that he had been dragged into a controversy not of his making, which left him reluctant to leave his house, and had cost him both personally and professionally. He claimed to have received a “foot high” stack of cards and letters from well-wishers who had simply written to “Ryan Tubridy, Dublin”.

Mr Bakhurst denied that Mr Tubridy would be "out by Friday", saying: 

It’s a significant decision and I won’t be taking it on my own, but it will be my responsibility in the end.

However, he admitted that Mr Tubridy’s reputation had been “undermined” by the payments scandal, adding that he "feels" for him personally.

Mr Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly had volunteered to appear at the committees in a bid to give their side of the controversy engulfing RTÉ around payments made to the former Late Late Show host. 

TDs pressed Mr Kelly on why he sent an invoice to the UK-based company Astus from his company, CMS, rather than to RTÉ, or to Renault from his NK Management company. The latter has signed a deal for Mr Tubridy to take part in Late Late Show roadshows for the car brand. Mr Kelly saif of the controversy:  “Ryan and I have attracted a horrendous amount of criticism and abuse in the past few weeks because he is such a high-profile and successful figure in Ireland, and he has been made the poster boy for this scandal."

During more than six hours of testimony, politicians heard that:

• Mr Tubridy and Mr Kelly sent a dossier refuting RTÉ’s evidence and claiming “seven material untruths”;
•  Mr Tubridy had been paid €150,000 for Renault events which have yet to happen and which he said he would pay back if they don’t go ahead.
• He insisted he decided to leave the Late Late Show last year before the Grant Thornton audit came to light;
• There were no offers on the table from rival broadcasters when his contract was being renegotiated;
• Mr Kelly insisted the Renault deal was entirely RTÉ’s doing and that former RTÉ chief financial officer Breda O’Keeffe sent an email to Mr Tubridy offering to send a “side letter to underwrite this fee for the duration of the contract”.

Mr Tubridy sees his future at RTÉ, but has “beef with some people in there”. He also said he welcomed the chance to be part of an overhaul of RTÉ. 

In the event that I do keep my job, I’d be happy to suggest that in the future we’d have a situation where you would publish my contract on an annual basis, with the money and the salary and the earnings there straight up.

RTÉ executives, including Mr Bakhurst, will return to the PAC on Thursday as the new director general said he expects “everything to be put in the public domain” so he can focus on reestablishing trust in RTÉ and set a new direction and strategy.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that everyone knows “RTÉ is in trouble” both financially and reputationally, but there had been no request for a bailout.