The former Late Late Show host has been absent from airwaves following a financial controversy.
In late March of this year during a routine audit of RTÉ’s 2022 accounts, an issue was identified in relation to the transparency of certain payments. The broadcaster which is Ireland’s equivalent of the BBC – although has a mix of commercial advertising and a licence fee – saw RTÉ Director-General Kevin Bakhurst stand down from the organisation’s Executive Board, which has been replaced with a temporary interim leadership team to continue running the organisation.
The major issue was payments made to presenter Ryan Tubridy who hosted, until this year The Late Late Show for RTÉ One television as well as a radio programme for the organisation. Official published wages of Tubridy from RTÉ turned out to be inaccurate with the presenter paid far more between 2017 and 2022.
Yesterday RTÉ noted they have concluded negotiations with Ryan Tubridy and he currently will not be returning as a broadcaster to the service.
Director General Kevin Bakhurst said in a statement:
“We went into negotiations with Ryan in good faith and in the hopes of reaching an agreement that would see Ryan return to his RTÉ Radio 1 show. I have decided not to continue with negotiations and, as such, there are no plans for Ryan to return to his presenting role with RTÉ at this time. Despite having agreed some of the fundamentals, including fee, duration and hours, regretfully, it is my view that trust between the parties has broken down. Public statements made without consultation appear to question the basis for the necessary restatement of fees paid for services for 2020 and 2021.
“I have been clear since I took up the role of Director-General of RTÉ that I am absolutely committed to restoring trust in this organisation following a shameful period in our history. To achieve this, and fully draw a line between our recent past and present, we must acknowledge and accept the issues that have arisen.
“Who knows what the future holds, but for now I am concluding the negotiation with Ryan, and focusing on delivering a range of important changes to the operation and culture of this organisation as part of the essential work to restore trust in RTÉ.”
