IT IS “IMPOSSIBLE” for Ryan Tubridy to return to his RTÉ Radio One show at present for editorial reasons, a senior official at RTÉ has said.
Politicians are currently grilling RTÉ representatives over the circumstances that led to a €345,000 discrepancy in the disclosed earnings of presenter Ryan Tubridy since 2017.
Tubridy resigned from his role as host of the Late Late Show in mid-March this year but continued to present his radio show on RTÉ each weekday morning.
However, he has not been on air since the revelations emerged late last week.
One member of the Oireachtas Committee on Media, Fianna Fáil TD Shane Cassells, asked Interim Deputy Director General Adrian Lynch if Tubridy will be returning.
“Is Ryan Tubridy going to be back on the air on RTÉ?” Cassells asked.
“At the moment, obviously, for editorial reasons, it’s impossible for Ryan Tubridy to be back on air,” Lynch replied.
“Do you envision him coming back on air in the long term?” Cassells asked.
“Again, I would just say, for editorial reasons he is not on air at the moment,” Lynch said.
Following Tubridy’s departure from The Late Late Show, there are questions over the exact nature of his contract with the broadcaster.
In a statement earlier today, RTÉ said Tubridy’s contract has “come to an end” following his decision to step back from The Late Late Show and that negotiations around his radio show contract have been paused amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the undisclosed payments.
“RTÉ has written to his agent that the contract (including all arrangements therein) has come to an end,” the statement reads.
“Negotiations had commenced regarding his radio responsibilities. Those negotiations have been paused as with all negotiations as per Board statement.”
However, the Irish Times has reported that a source close to Tubridy says the presenter has challenged this argument and that he is taking legal advice on the status of the contract.
Tubridy’s 9am radio slot has been presented by comedian Oliver Callan during his absence.
On Friday, as Callan commenced the show’s round-up of the day’s news stories, he addressed that the “usual presenter is the subject of every single front page”.
“We could be accused of talking too much about ourselves but if I ignored it I’d be doing a disservice to you,” he said.
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