LAST UPDATE | 13 Jul 2023

NEW RTÉ DIRECTOR general Kevin Bakhurst told the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that RTÉ has received an invoice for payment from Ryan Tubridy’s agent Noel Kelly.

Tubridy has been off-air since the payments scandal broke on 22 June, with RTÉ re-stating today that it believes Tubridy’s current contract is “at an end” since he announced that he would no longer be hosting The Late Late Show beyond the previous season which ended in may. 

Tubridy is an outside contractor and was paid by RTÉ for his morning radio show and the weekly Late Late Show. 

Asked if any salary was currently being paid to Tubridy, Bakhurst said: “As of this week, no. Because we need to agree what the level of that is.

“As I understand it, the latest invoice came in this week and my advice is we need to decide exactly what we’re paying him because he’s not doing his past duties any more, so that’s currently a process going on.”

Asked what salary Tubridy is being paid, Bakhurst said: “We’ll have to continue discussions with Mr Tubridy’s agent about that because clearly he’s not doing his TV programme any more.

“He should be available for radio so we have not settled on exactly what he should be being paid at the moment but we’ll be paying the appropriate amount once we’ve confirmed.”

On the potential return of Ryan Tubridy, RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst says "there will be a fair process" involving discussions with staff, colleagues and possibly Tubridy himself.

Says that RTÉ is currently not sure what Tubridy should be being paid while off-air. pic.twitter.com/b1dD7UixRF

— TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) July 13, 2023

Pushed later on the current contractual situation between Tubridy and RTÉ, Bakhurst said that it is in an “unsatisfactory position at the moment” because a renegotiation is required now that Tubridy is no longer host of The Late Late Show. 

Bakhurst said that Tubridy “stepped away from part of the contract” after leaving The Late Late Show. 

RTÉ’s director of legal Paula Mullooly said that it is RTÉ’s position that Tubridy’s contract with RTÉ is therefore “at an end” but that this is disputed by Tubridy’s representaives NK Management. 

“Our view is that the current contract is at an end because it’s a rolled up television and radio contract. It is fair to say the agent takes a different view. He regards the radio services as ongoing that was forming part of the negotiations. Those negotiations have paused,” she said. 

Bakhurst said there would be “a fair process” around a decision on Tubridy’s future at the broadcaster but he hoped this wouold not take “too long”. 

“I can’t answer if anyone else has contacted him, I haven’t contacted him since Tuesday. I think I’ve said this, I don’t want to rush into this, I’ll make a decision on this in due time,” Bakhurst said. 

I want to be fair to Ryan, I mean clearly its critical for him but I need to talk to to some key members of radio staff, I need to talk to my colleagues on the leadership team and consider what’s the right thing for RTÉ and then have a conversation with Mr. Tubridy, but I don’t want to leave it too long.  

Renault

Earlier this week, Tubridy told the PAC that he was still being paid by RTÉ. 

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The presenter also told the committee if the Renault events that were part of his tripartite deal do not go ahead, he would be open to returning the money.

Sinn Féin’s John Brady said today that Tubridy was paid for services in advance and services which have not been provided.

Bakhurst said today that they have not asked Tubridy to give back €150,000.

“There’s two things here for me: there’s a legal agreement and RTÉ has a liability.

“Then, I think there’s a moral question about what’s the right thing to do and I think when we do come to have any discussions with Mr Tubridy going forward – I welcomed his offer the other day and we’ll wait and see what he does about it,” he said.

- With reporting by Rónán Duffy