LATEST: Tubridy apologises for not asking questions about reporting of his earnings

LATEST: Presenter Ryan Tubridy has “apologised unreservedly” for not asking questions when RTÉ published incorrect figures for his earnings.

Tubridy also revealed that he would not be presenting his daily radio show next week as the national broadcaster reels from the controversy over the misreporting of its star presenter’s salary.

Earlier, the director general of RTÉ Dee Forbes was suspended and the National Union of Journalists called for a wide independent inquiry into RTÉ’s corporate governance.

In a statement, 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.

“For this, I apologise unreservedly.” 

The former Late Late Show host added: “At the centre of all of this is trust. The trust of colleagues in RTÉ and the trust of a great many people who listen to my show.

“To them, I wholeheartedly apologise for my error of judgement.

“Separately, it has been reported that I did not take a pay cut over the last number of years. This is simply not true.

“Over the period of my contract with RTÉ, I have been asked to take several reductions in salary and I did. Indeed, between 2012 and today, my pay from RTÉ was cut by approximately 40%.

“I also wish to respond to suggestions that this issue had some bearing on my decision to step down from hosting the Late Late Show. It did not.

“Finally, I am disappointed that RTÉ has decided that for editorial reasons I should not broadcast my radio show next week.

“I look forward to returning to the radio show, a job I love, as soon as possible and I hope my listeners and my colleagues appreciate my sincerity on this.” 

The latest statement came a day after RTÉ apologised as it admitted Tubridy, its top earner and highest-profile presenter, had been paid several hundred thousand euro more than it had previously declared.

The RTÉ board said that between 2017 and 2022, he received a series of payments totalling €345,000 above his annual published salary.

Ms Forbes, who was already due to step down from her role next month, was suspended on Wednesday, the RTÉ board announced on Friday.

In a statement, Ms Forbes said: “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.

“Yesterday was an extremely difficult day for all of us who care so deeply about the organisation and the impact of these issues is a matter of profound regret.”

EARLIER: The Tánaiste has labelled the misreporting of Ryan Tubridy’s salary as a “breach of trust”.

RTÉ apologised on Thursday after admitting Ryan Tubridy had been paid several hundred thousand more than it had previously declared.

In a statement, the RTÉ board said that between 2017 and 2022, Tubridy received a series of payments totalling €345,000 above his annual published salary.

Tubridy, the former host of The Late Late Show, has said he was surprised to learn of errors in RTÉ’s public statement about payments it had made to him.

RTÉ confirmed earlier that its director general Dee Forbes, who is from Cork, has been suspended. 

In a statement issued today, RTÉ said: 

"The RTÉ Board confirms that Dee Forbes, the Director General was suspended from her employment on Wednesday, 21 June, 2023.

"There are processes ongoing and RTÉ must be mindful of its legal responsibilities and the rights of individuals.

"RTÉ will not be commenting further on this issue at this time."

Speaking to reporters in Galway on Friday, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said: “First of all, there’s huge shock and surprise at what has transpired in terms of the manner of this.

“I think we need more clarification.

“I think, particularly in the area of transparency, this is a breach of trust in terms of the public presentation of the figures as opposed to the reality of the figures.

“That is serious, particularly because I think it relates to governance within RTÉ and given its unique role as a public service broadcaster, clarity is required in all aspects of this.” 

Culture Minister Catherine Martin is due to hold talks with RTÉ board chair Siun Ni Raghallaigh on Monday to discuss the crisis rocking the broadcaster.

Speaking to the media on Friday, Ms Martin said: “I want to know what actions are going to be taken, what processes will be put in place to make sure that this never happens again.

“I do believe it raises concerns in relation to the broader transparency and governance of this organisation.

“Public service broadcasting is so important to society, to democracy, and there is no doubt that damage has been done here.

“Trust has been damaged with the public, but I would say there is a lot of damage has been done to the staff, and that is something the board needs to work on, rebuilding the trust.”

Regarding the suspension of Ms Forbes, the minister added: “I think for the sake of transparency it is good that announcement has been made, that clarity is given that that suspension has taken place.” 

Ms Martin said she became aware in March that an issue had been discovered in the RTÉ audit, but only became aware that it involved Tubridy on Wednesday.

She said: “What I was told in March was that an issue had arisen in the routine annual audit and that the need to do a fact-finding review to establish the actual facts around this.

“That is all I knew in March.” 

On Thursday, RTÉ revealed that during a routine audit of 2022 accounts in late March, an issue was identified in relation to the “transparency of certain payments”.

In mid-March, Tubridy announced he was quitting as host of the flagship Late Late Show after 14 years. Comedian Paddy Kielty has since been appointed as his replacement.

Following the discovery in the 2022 accounts, RTÉ appointed an external auditor to carry out an independent fact-finding review.

Tubridy’s previously published remunerations for 2020 and 2021 show he earned €466,250 and €440,000 respectively in those years, which appeared to represent an 11% reduction on his 2019 earnings.

However, under a separate agreement, Tubridy was guaranteed by RTÉ an additional annual income of €75,000 in 2020, which was intended to come from a commercial partner.

The commercial partner fee due to Tubridy was guaranteed and underwritten by RTÉ.

The commercial partner did not renew the agreement for a second year, and since the agreement was guaranteed by RTÉ, the payments were instead made directly by RTÉ to Tubridy’s agent.

The presenter received two further €75,000 payments in 2022, which prompted the review.

It was then discovered that Tubridy’s remuneration had been understated by RTÉ by €120,000 over the contract period of 2017-2019.