Media

The RTÉ crisis explained: Seven key points, from payments to Ryan Tubridy to €5,000 on flip flops

Catch-up: Three weeks of the RTÉ payments scandal has meant dozens of documents and hours of committee meetings

Ryan Tubridy and Dee Forbes
Ryan Tubridy payments crisis saw RTÉ director general Dee Forbes resign. Illustration: Paul Scott
Shauna Bowers's picture
Shauna Bowers
Wed Jul 12 2023 - 13:20

It has been almost three weeks since the news of the RTÉ payment scandal first emerged.

It’s easy to lose track of what we’ve learned over that time, due to the continuous release of information, with dozens of documents and hours of committee meetings.

Here’s a brief synopsis of what has happened so far:

  • Ryan Tubridy’s pay: On June 22nd, RTÉ announced that between 2017 and 2022 it had paid €345,000 more than had been previously disclosed to TV and radio presenter Ryan Tubridy. Mr Tubridy was already the biggest earner at the broadcaster, with these extra payments bringing his annual income to in excess of €500,000 annually for those years.
  • Dee Forbes: Former director general of the RTÉ Dee Forbes was asked to resign by the RTÉ board due to the hidden payments. She initially declined to resign, was suspended, before formally resigning on June 26th.

[ Ten new things we’ve learned: Blistering opening statements from Ryan Tubridy and Noel Kelly ]

[ Live: RTÉ set to face questions from Oireachtas media committee on future of GAAGo ]

  • Barter accounts: RTÉ executives were requested to appear before politicians at meetings of the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee and the Media committee to answer questions about the payment scandal. During these meetings, further revelations about expenditure emerged, such as spending €5,000 on flip flops and €111,000 on a trip to Japan using funds from barter accounts.
  • Toy Show the Musical: The committee also received documents about Toy Show The Musical for which RTE incurred a loss of €2.2 million on the production after selling only 11,000 National Convention Centre tickets.
  • Kevin Bakhurst: The new director general Kevin Bakhurst took up his role on July 10th, and began by announcing some sweeping changes. He stood down the executive board of RTÉ and established a “temporary interim leadership team”.
  • Oireachtas committee: On Tuesday July 11th, Ryan Tubridy and agent Noel Kelly appeared at two committee meetings with politicians to answer questions. The pair, in their contributions, sought to put the blame back on the broadcaster, with Mr Kelly describing the situation as “entirely a mess of RTÉ's own making” and Mr Tubridy challenging “untruths”.
Tubridy payments
Illustration: Paul Scott

What is next?

  • PAC: Mr Bakhurst will appear before the Public Accounts Committee on Thursday, July 13th, for the first time. Here, he is likely to be questioned on his plans for reforming the broadcaster and restoring trust among both the staff and the public.

Ryan Tubridy at the Oireachtas: what we learned

Listen | 22:09
Some of the highlights from Ryan Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly's appearance before the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee. Video: Oireachtas TV

[ Miriam Lord: Won’t someone please think of the children, and let Ryan Tubridy back on the air? ]

[ Fintan O’Toole: In the end, Ryan Tubridy resorted to the Father Ted defence ]