LAST UPDATE | 23 Jun 2023

• RTÉ have announced that its outgoing director general, Dee Forbes, was suspended from her employment on Wednesday
• The RTÉ Trade Union Group is meeting with RTÉ management today to discuss the discrepancy
• The former chair of RTÉ’s Board, Moya Doherty, has denied having knowledge of any payments

TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has said that “remedial steps” will be required to “restore trust and confidence” in RTÉ, following revelations about discrepancies between Ryan Tubridy’s salary and what the broadcaster said he was being paid.

Over 2017 to 2022 and in the first three months of this year, RTÉ underreported Tubridy’s earnings by a cumulative total of €345,000.

In a statement, Varadkar said: “I am very concerned at the information set out in RTÉ’s statement and the announcement that the Director General has been suspended.

“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.”

Minister for Culture Catherine Martin intends to meet the Chair of the RTÉ Board tomorrow.

Varadkar said: “I am keeping in touch with Minister Martin on this issue and will receive an update from her after the meeting. She will brief Cabinet on Tuesday.

“At tomorrow’s meeting, the Minister will be asking the Chairperson to set out in detail, the issues involved and the steps the RTÉ Board is taking. The Government considers it essential that we have the highest standards of governance, accountability and transparency from RTÉ and will consider what further action may be required.

“All of the matters involved will have to be examined and, perhaps, remedial steps taken to restore trust and confidence.

“It will be equally important for the Board to demonstrate that it is putting in place appropriate structures and processes to prevent a recurrence.

“The public are right to expect high standards of transparency and accountability from RTÉ as it is extremely important that we can all have trust in our public service broadcasting.”

‘This is serious’

Earlier today, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that RTÉ’s understating of Tubridy’s earnings is a breach of trust, criticising the public broadcaster for the discrepancy between the “public presentation” of his salary “as opposed to the reality of the figures”.

“This is serious,” Martin said, “particularly as it relates to governance within RTÉ and given its unique role as a public service broadcaster.”

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“There’s huge shock and surprise in terms of the manner of this. I think we need more clarification.”

Martin was speaking this morning before it was announced by RTÉ that Dee Forbes, the outgoing Director General of RTÉ, was suspended from her employment on Wednesday – a day before news of the controversy broke. 

Forbes was due to finish her term on 10 July and had been expected to be called before the Oireachtas’ Public Accounts Committee over the long-running pay discrepancy.

The secretary of the RTÉ Trade Union Group, Cearbhall Ó Síocháin, is meeting with RTÉ management to ask how such a significant understatement of Tubridy’s earnings wasn’t identified sooner.

Chair of the RTÉ Board Siún Ní Raghallaigh said the issue is “a matter of profound regret for the Board of RTÉ”, while Tubridy said yesterday he was “surprised by the announcements made in RTÉ’s statement today regarding the errors in the reporting of its accounts”.

- With reporting from Jamie McCarron and Emer Moreau