LAST UPDATE | 6 Jul 2023

PRESENTER RYAN TUBRIDY AND his agent Noel Kelly will appear before two Oireachtas committees on Tuesday.

Tubridy and Kelly will appear before the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday morning at 11.30m, before attending the Media Committee in the afternoon t 3pm.

The PAC has also invited RTÉ Executives and board to come before it on Thursday.

Tubridy and Kelly agreed yesterday come before Oireachtas committees as the controversy over RTÉ’s failure to disclose €345,000 worth of payments to the presenter continues.

Letters from Tubridy and Kelly’s solicitors have informed the committees that the men agree to meet with them.

In a letter to the chair of the Media Committee dated today, a Managing Partner of Hayes Solicitors said: “I am writing to you on behalf of our clients, Ryan Tubridy and Noel Kelly in relation to your Committee’s investigations into RTE expenditure and governance issues.”

The letter, seen by The Journal, said that ”Mr Tubridy and Mr Kelly wish to fully cooperate and assist with your Committee’s investigations. They believe that they have important information that will assist the Committee in its examination of these issues and clarify a number of matters that have arisen.

“Both Mr Tubridy and Mr Kelly kindly request to meet with your Committee at a suitable time next week.”

The letter says that they “would welcome this opportunity to set out their position on these matters and then submit themselves to appropriate questioning from the members of the Committee on what are clearly matters of public interest”.

“We will prepare a booklet of relevant documents which can be shared with the Committee in advance of our attendance.

“Please note that we have written in similar terms to the Committee of Public Accounts.”

Further revelations 

RTÉ representatives appeared before the Oireachtas Media Committee for a second time yesterday in what was a bruising encounter, with more revelations into the management of the public broadcasters finances.

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Since the initial revelation, it has further emerged that RTÉ underwrote a commercial sponsorship of Tubridy by Renault, labelled invoices for €75,000 payments made to Tubridy as a result as “consultancy fees”, and used a barter account for the payments.

The new documentation yesterday showed that Forbes promised that RTÉ would guarantee the controversial deal with Renault.

It also shows that Forbes told Tubridy that his pay would not be reduced by RTÉ up to 2025, though the broadcaster had made assurances to the public that it was reducing the salaries of its highest earners.

Additionally, a review of RTÉ’s finances has uncovered the use of more barter accounts by the broadcaster.