The chair of the RTÉ board Siún Ní Raghallaigh said the way payments to Ryan Tubridy were presented in the broadcaster’s accounts appeared to her to be “an act designed to deceive”.
Her stark comments opened up what was described as an “extraordinary” hearing at the Public Accounts Committee on Thursday, where RTÉ chiefs faced a second round of questioning on the misstating of payments to Mr Tubridy.
TDs expressed shock during the hearing at sensational revelations around the use of a so-called barter fund, and around how two €75,000 pay top-ups were accounted for within the State broadcaster.
It also emerged that RTÉ is going to review how it negotiates contracts with agents, and is also planning to publish the salaries of other high earners beyond the top 10.
The RTÉ executive board will also be overhauled.
In her opening statement to the committee, Ms Ní Raghallaigh said she is “appalled as to how payments were recorded and presented in RTÉ accounts”.
“What was the motivation here? It appears to me that this was an act designed to deceive.”
She also appealed for former director general Dee Forbes to appear before the committee when she is able to do so.
Ms Forbes has so far declined to appear, citing ill health, but the PAC may now seek powers to compel her.
[ RTÉ’s PAC hearing: 10 things we learned on an ‘extraordinary’ dayOpens in new window ]
RTÉ's chief financial officer Richard Collins also said there was “concealment” or “deception” in some payments for the presenter. Mr Collins was also questioned on why the invoices for the top-ups were labelled as “consultancy fees”.
After auditors raised concerns, he approached former director general Ms Forbes to look for an explanation. He said he was told by her that it was “for advice that Dee Forbes had received around how RTÉ structured itself and presented itself during Covid-19”.
RTE’s Prime Time programme on Thursday reported that Dee Forbes initially explained the two €75,000 “consultancy fees” invoices as relating to work done for the broadcaster by Noel Kelly in advising on the structuring of RTE during Covid.
However, after that explanation proved unsatisfactory to auditors last March, Ms Forbes revised the explanation to say the fees referred to the tripartite deal between RTE, Ryan Tubridy and Renault.
At the committee, Geraldine O’Leary, RTÉ’s commercial director, said either Noel Kelly or the former director general came up with the terminology of “consultancy fees”.
“It was either Noel Kelly or the director general, but I’m not sure which one. So, in the absence of being 100 per cent certain, I believe it is correct to say that I don’t remember – because I don’t.”
Fianna Fáil TD Cormac Devlin said there was a notable “change in tone” from RTÉ bosses in comparison to a previous committee hearing. On Wednesday night, Minister for Media Catherine Martin said it was “vital” that RTÉ engage transparently with the PAC.
There were also fresh revelations at the committee around the use of the station’s barter account.
Mr Collins said there were transactions at a cost of €111,000 to the barter account for travel and hotels to facilitate bringing clients to the Rugby World Cup in 2019.
He said 10-year IRFU tickets were purchased with a cost through the barter account of €138,000.
In addition, there were transactions relating to the Champions League final in 2019 totalling €26,000.
Asked about the number of transactions on the barter account, Mr Collins told the committee there were “hundreds”.
Labour TD Alan Kelly asked for 20 years of transactions that were conducted through the barter account.
Former chair of the RTÉ board Moya Doherty said it was “staggering” that neither she nor her board colleagues were aware of the existence of a barter account for RTÉ during their tenure.
“None of us knew of the existence of this barter fund, which was outside of the financial department, and therefore not reported to us as a board during our monthly meetings, and did not exist in the monthly management account.
“For me, as chair, and for my colleagues on the board, that is staggering and absolutely shocking . . . we didn’t even pick up in the corridors of RTÉ the existence of the barter fund.”
Separately, RTÉ’s interim deputy director general Adrian Lynch told the committee it was “possible” Mr Tubridy had been aware of the issue of the additional payments before his departure from The Late Late Show.
Responding to a question from Sinn Féin TD John Brady around whether he might have been told the issue was to be raised and that this might have “influenced” the timing of his departure, Mr Lynch said: “Based on the information from yesterday, it’s possible.”
There was further controversy in the committee after Mr Collins, the chief financial officer, appeared to briefly suggest he wasn’t fully aware what his salary was.
He then said he believed it is about €200,000 with a €25,000 car allowance. Mr Brady said this was extraordinary.
