Broadcaster Ryan Tubridy has told the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee that his reputation has been “desperately sullied” by the controversy over so-called “secret” payments made to him by RTÉ.
It emerged during a committee hearing on Tuesday that the 20 per cent salary cut taken by Tubridy in 2020 did not include €75,000 in annual payments made to him in an agreement with a commercial company.
Tubridy’s agent Noel Kelly told the committee it was that RTÉ came up with the idea of the agreement with Renault rather than him or his client.
Addressing the controversy over the payments, Tubridy said: “I think my reputation has been sullied. I’m deeply upset. I’m hurt. it’s hard to leave the house if you really, really wanted to be honest about it.”
The broadcaster and his agent are appearing before the committee to explain a tripartite deal that was made with the Late Late Show sponsors, that resulted in Tubridy being paid €75,000 per annum in fees for making commercial appearances.
Guaranteed
RTÉ guaranteed the payments and when Renault withdrew from the agreement after a year, the broadcaster paid the Tubridy €150,000 over two years through a barter account.
Green Party TD Marc Ó Cathasaigh challenged a claim made by Tubridy that he took a 20 per cent pay cut.
Mr Kelly explained this cut should be taken in comparison to Tubridy’s salary between 2015 and 2020. After 2020, he said, Tubridy’s annual salary was €420,000, compared to an average of more than €525,000 in the previous period.
However, he said the €75,000 income from the tripartite deal with Renault was treated separately from that and was not factord into the 20 per cent cut.
“The Renault €75,000 was a completely separate contract,” he said.
However, several members of the committee, including Imelda Munster (Sinn Féin) and Colm Burke (Fine Gael), have pointed out that it formed part of the contract negotiations around the broadcaster’s salary.
Room for perception
Mr Ó Cathasaigh asked Tubridy if it was difficult to reconcile the idea that the Renault payment is a completely separate arrangement when it formed part of the contract.
“I understand where you are coming from entirely but I understand the room for perception issues, yes,” Tubridy said.
The former Late Late Show host rounded on RTÉ in his opening statement, in which he denied he was aware that the broadcaster was trying to conceal payments made to him. He disputed suggestions that he was involved in any secretive dealings.
“I have nothing to hide,” he said.
Tubridy outlined what he described as seven “untruths” about his contract with RTÉ and categorically denied he was aware at any time that RTÉ had concealed payments made to him.
He maintains that none of the payments made to him were secret, including the deal between RTÉ and Renault.
In responses to questions by committee members including John Brady (Sinn Féin) and Cormac Devlin (Fianna Fáil), Tubridy said his decision to leave The Late Late Show was not triggered by potential controversy over his payments. He said he was completely unaware of any issues when he made the decision almost a year ago.
“There is zero connection between my departure and this very raw situation of recent weeks,” he said.
The only concession Tubridy made in his statement or contributions to the committee was that he should have questioned RTÉ's public statement on the scale of his salary in 2021.
“This is a question I did not ask at that time, and one I should have asked. I fully accept that,” he said.
[ Ryan Tubridy’s statement in full: RTÉ presenter outlines seven alleged ‘untruths’Opens in new window ]
Following instructions
Asked about the unusual means of channelling the payment to Tubridy, through a barter account and separate companies, Mr Kelly repeatedly said he was following the instructions of RTÉ.
Several members of the committee have asked why an experienced businessman like him had not queried the unusual manner in which the invoices were paid, and why they were classified as “consultancy fees”. He and Tubridy have argued that there were no secret elements involved in any of the negotiations or agreements.
In his opening statement, Mr Kelly said many others in RTÉ, besides former director general Dee Forbes, were aware of the negotiations and the so-called guarantee that RTÉ would underwrite the €75,000 annual fee in the event of a change of sponsor.
He pointed to correspondence from February 2021 when the then director of finance confirmed that a letter for guarantee would be issued by the broadcaster. “We trusted RTÉ. It’s not a start-up with opaque funding and a chequered past or a record for dodgy financial dealings. It’s a national institution 100 years old, with a massive business turnover.”
