Irish national broadcaster has admitted that top presenter was paid hundreds of thousands more euros between a period of five years than was previously declared.
In a statement, the board for the company revealed that the TV personality received a series of payments above his annual published salary, totalling €345,000 (£296,653).
RTÉ board chairwoman Siun Ni Raghallaigh said: ‘This is a matter of profound regret for the board of RTÉ. We are well aware that this is a serious breach of trust with the public.
‘On behalf of the board, I wish to apologise for what has occurred. It is clear that RTÉ has fallen short of the high standards that it sets for itself and are expected of it.
‘Once these issues came to light, we acted expeditiously to establish the facts and we are confident that the safeguards we have now put in place will ensure that nothing like this will happen again, and that good corporate governance is adhered to at all times.’
The amount that Tubridy was paid outside of his salary was not declared to the public or Ireland’s national parliament the Oireachtas, the broadcaster outlined.
The payments were discovered after the company’s auditors alerted the broadcaster’s board to some of the transactions, it has been revealed.
The press release published by the company explained that a review investigated a ‘separate agreement under which Mr Tubridy was guaranteed by RTÉ an additional annual income of €75,000 [£64,477] which was intended to come from a commercial partner’.
‘Accordingly, under the terms of this agreement, a payment of €75,000 was received by Mr. Tubridy in July 2020 from a commercial partner, in exchange for a number of personal appearances a year,’ the statement continued.
‘Tubridy received two payments of €75,000 (totalling €150,000), each in 2022 (being a payment for 2021 and a payment for 2022). It was these payments that prompted the review by Grant Thornton.’
RTÉ showing Tubridy’s published earnings in the years from 2017 to 2022, in comparison to his actual earnings.
The total clocked up to additional payments of €326,250 (£280,553).
Arts Minister Catherine Martin said that she was ‘extremely concerned’ by the news, stating: ‘I have spoken with the RTE chairperson today and have subsequently written to her requesting that she meet with me and officials of the department.’
Sharing that they have a meeting arranged for Monday, the minister continued: ‘I have asked the chair to set out in that meeting, in detail, the issues involved, the steps the board is taking to deal with the matter, the follow-on action that will be required, and the timeline for these actions.
‘The public rightly expect much higher standards of transparency and accountability from Ireland’s public service broadcaster. It is unacceptable that these have not been met.’
‘The Board is committed to ensuring that there is appropriate accountability for what has occurred. That process is ongoing, mindful of individuals’ rights, and affording them due process,’ RTÉ said.
Tubridy presented The Late Late Show and The Late Late Toy Show from 2009 to 2023, and currently hosts The Ryan Tubridy Show on RTÉ Radio 1.
