RTÉ is engulfed in a genuine scandal over undeclared payments made to presenter Ryan Tubridy across a five-year period.
RTÉ today announced that outgoing Director General had been suspended Wednesday amid the controversy.
Amid a funding crisis at the national broadcaster, Forbes had said in February that Tubridy had taken an 11% pay cut between 2019-2021. We know now that the former Late Late presenter was at the same time in receipt of undeclared payments.
It's Tubridy's own comments about taking a pay cut that have raised an eyebrow in the last 24 hours.
Speaking in December 2019 to the Irish Mirror at the launch of the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal, Tubridy said he's never been 'found wanting' when it comes to taking a pay cut.
Ryan Tubridy 'haunted by children in poverty' as he confirms he will accept RTE pay cuthttps://t.co/8qivL7Gp5H
— Irish Daily Mirror (@IrishMirror) November 21, 2019
He said at the time:
“I’ve taken a pay cut before. I took over 30% the last time and they’ve asked for more again which will bring it up to about 45% or (so) since I took the Late Late Show.
“When it comes to this sort of issue, that’s not something I’ve ever been found wanting in and that continues to be the case, yeah.”
And yes it is true that Tubridy has taken pay cuts over the past five years. It's just that RTÉ's highest paid employee was also in receipt of a large payment that the general public - and seemingly very few people in RTÉ - knew about.
Tubridy also spoke of his fondness for the national broadcaster in that time.
“Some of the great programmes and documentaries in news service and entertaining programmes are there and I think they are a very important part of the national identity, the national fabric, the tapestry of who we are. And I would hate that import to be lost in the fog of unhappiness for other reasons.
Like it or not, this controversy has creature a fissure in the bond between the national broadcaster and the people it broadcasts to.
Ryan Tubridy's second statement
Tubridy issued a second statement on the issue on Friday afternoon. He said he was 'disappointed' RTÉ decided not to allow him to broadcast next week and 'apologised unreservedly' for not being more rigorous in regards to the publication of incorrect information pertaining to his salary.
“While I have no responsibility for the corporate governance in RTÉ or how or what they publish in their accounts, when my earnings were published I should have asked questions at the time and sought answers as to the circumstances which resulted in incorrect figures being published.
“I didn’t, and I bear responsibility for my failure to do so. For this, I apologise unreservedly
"I am disappointed that RTÉ has decided that for editorial reasons I should not broadcast my radio show next week. I look forward to returning to the radio show, a job I love, as soon as possible and I hope my listeners and my colleagues appreciate my sincerity on this,”
"At the centre of all of this is trust. The trust of colleagues in RTÉ and the trust of a great many people who listen to my show. To them: I wholeheartedly apologise for my error of judgement.”
“Separately, it has been reported that I did not take a pay cut over the last number of years. This is simply not true. Over the period of my contract with RTÉ, I have been asked to take several reductions in salary and I did. Indeed, between 2012 and today, my pay from RTÉ was cut by approximately 40pc.
“I also wish to respond to suggestions that this issue had some bearing on my decision to step down from hosting the Late Late Show. It did not.”
