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The RTÉ secret payment scandal relates to events from late June 2023 onwards when Ireland's main
public service A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing available to private busin ...
broadcaster
RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
first disclosed previously unknown arrangements concerning a leading presenter's pay, and in subsequent discussions, revelations about corporate entertainment for advertising clients, management numbers and high pay, and executive exit packages. On 22 June 2023, RTÉ announced that between 2017 and 2022 it had paid €345,000 more than had been previously disclosed to the TV and radio presenter
Ryan Tubridy Ryan Tubridy (born 28 May 1973) is an Irish broadcaster. He currently presents the weekday mid-morning programme ''The Ryan Tubridy Show'' on Virgin Radio UK, as well as a weekend programme on Sundays. His broadcasting career with RTÉ spanned ...
, whose pay was already known to be more than that of anyone else at RTÉ. The celebrity
talent agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds work for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, dancers, and other professionals in various entertainm ...
Noel Kelly of NK Management negotiated the pay supplements and played a central role in funnelling them to Tubridy. The extra payments brought Tubridy's annual earnings over the €500,000 threshold each year during that time period, while allowing RTÉ to declare publicly that Tubridy was earning less than this. For the years 2020 to 2022, the extra payments were performed using a UK-based " barter account" mechanism, operated with a barter agency, Astus. The
Director General of RTÉ The director general is the chief executive and editor-in-chief of public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The current director general is Kevin Bakhurst, who replaced Dee Forbes in the role in 2023. Appointment and ro ...
Dee Forbes Deirdre Anne Forbes (born 1 February 1967) is an Irish former broadcasting executive, who was the Director General of RTÉ from April 2016 to June 2023. She was the first woman to hold the role, and the first external appointment in almost 50 ye ...
was asked to resign by
RTÉ Board The RTÉ Board is a body of up to twelve people which makes policy and guiding corporate direction for RTÉ, Ireland's state public broadcaster. The board membership includes the broadcaster's chief officer and one elected staff representative. ...
chairperson Siún Ní Raghallaigh. Forbes initially declined to do so, but was later suspended, and eventually resigned on 26 June 2023. Members of the
RTÉ Executive Board The RTÉ Executive Board, despite its name, was not a board of directors, but rather was a committee composed of the senior management of the Irish public service broadcaster, Raidió Teilifís Éireann, responsible for the day-to-day running ...
and RTÉ Board were summoned to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media and the Oireachtas
Public Accounts Committee A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subseque ...
(PAC) on numerous occasions to explain what had happened. In late June 2023, more information on the culture within RTÉ entered the public domain, specifically what else it used the barter account for, including €111,000 on trips to
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
and €260,000 on a
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
trip. On 4 July 2023, two additional barter account operators were disclosed – along with Astus (the first disclosed), these were Active and Miroma. The controversy turned to exit payments for senior executives in early 2024 which led to the resignation of Ní Raghallaigh. According to ''
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'''s political editor Pat Leahy, "The story of RTÉ's agonies is an important one for politics, society and media". Ironically, the scandal led large numbers of the Irish public to tune in to RTÉ News updates to follow the story as it developed. RTÉ is using the
public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
firm Q4, co-founded by former
Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...
general secretary Martin Mackin, who was briefly appointed to
Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann ( ; ; "Senate of Ireland") is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives). It is commonly called the Seanad or ...
in 2002.


Background

An independent legal review in 2018 found that a number of workers at RTÉ were misclassified in
false self-employment False self-employment is a situation in which a person registered as self-employed, a freelancer, or a temp is de facto an employee carrying out a professional activity under the authority and subordination of another company. Such false self-empl ...
contracts, in breach of guidelines on employment status, meaning that these workers were unable to access benefits of regular employment such as maternity leave, pensions, pay for illness and permission to apply for promotional posts. In late 2019, the
Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland () is the executive (government), executive authority of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet (government), cabinet – is composed of Mini ...
and RTÉ held talks over the broadcaster's series of annual budgetary deficits. In December 2019, the government agreed to increase RTÉ's funding by a further €9 million per year. Budgetary deficits remained, leading RTÉ to make more cuts to its services. RTÉ froze pay rises for its ordinary workers in March 2020, which an industrial relations tribunal later that year found to be wrong. In October 2020, RTÉ Director General
Dee Forbes Deirdre Anne Forbes (born 1 February 1967) is an Irish former broadcasting executive, who was the Director General of RTÉ from April 2016 to June 2023. She was the first woman to hold the role, and the first external appointment in almost 50 ye ...
told employees that the broadcaster would be looking for more redundancies in January 2021, as it "must now begin planning a series of initiatives" to deal with a "persistent gap" between its income and expenses. RTÉ and the government agreed this plan to cut €60 million at RTÉ between 2020 and 2023. In December 2019, Communications Minister
Richard Bruton Richard Bruton (born 15 March 1953) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin Bay North from 2016 to 2024, and previously from 1982 to 2016 for the Dublin North-Central constituency. He was the Cha ...
announced that RTÉ would be funded to the tune of €50 million in the following five years. The
Public Accounts Committee A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subseque ...
(PAC) suggested in July 2022 that RTÉ was relying too much on state funding, as its commercial revenue declined. There were also delays to deciding how to change the TV licence system, with licence evasion having risen to 15.8% in 2020. RTÉ Director of Strategy Rory Coveney (a brother of
Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...
minister
Simon Coveney Simon Coveney (born 16 June 1972) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from 2022 to 2024. He served as Leader of Fine Gael#Deputy leaders, deputy leader of Fine Gael from 2017 to 202 ...
) told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media on 18 January 2023 that there was no sustainable future for RTÉ without changing the ways in which RTÉ was provided with public funding, and hinted at "implications for cost and human resources". Coveney also suggested that the recent stage show '' Toy Show The Musical'' may return "in some form" and be better suited to staging before ''
The Late Late Toy Show ''The Late Late Toy Show'' is an annual, special edition of the Irish chat show ''The Late Late Show (Irish talk show), The Late Late Show''. Airing annually on RTÉ One near the end of November or early December to coincide with the holiday sh ...
''.


Timeline

On 15 February 2023, RTÉ released the figures for its top ten earners of 2021, placing on record the figure of €440,000 it wrongly claims Tubridy earned in 2021 and allowing other reports to erroneously claim Tubridy's salary decreased by €26,250 to €466,250 from 2020. RTÉ admitted on 22 June that "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. These payments were recorded in an RTÉ "Barter Account" in 2022 at a value of €115,380 each". RTÉ Board chairperson Siún Ní Raghallaigh confirmed in an interview on '' RTÉ News: Six One'' that Tubridy would not be on air the following morning (a Friday, his last show of the week). The
RTÉ Board The RTÉ Board is a body of up to twelve people which makes policy and guiding corporate direction for RTÉ, Ireland's state public broadcaster. The board membership includes the broadcaster's chief officer and one elected staff representative. ...
released a statement the next day announcing that Director General
Dee Forbes Deirdre Anne Forbes (born 1 February 1967) is an Irish former broadcasting executive, who was the Director General of RTÉ from April 2016 to June 2023. She was the first woman to hold the role, and the first external appointment in almost 50 ye ...
was suspended on Wednesday 21 June 2023. However, Ní Raghallaigh failed to mention this the previous evening during her interview on ''RTÉ News: Six One''. On 25 June, ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'' reported on how RTÉ arranged for Tubridy's salary top-ups to be paid, with RTÉ alleged to have told Tubridy's agent Noel Kelly to send invoices to a British barter agency called Astus. RTÉ, reports ''The Sunday Times'', arranged for invoices, which were labelled as "consultancy services". Astus then settled them on RTÉ's behalf. In an early morning statement the next day, RTÉ Director General Dee Forbes announced her resignation with immediate effect. It was also confirmed that Forbes had resigned her position on the board of GAAGO, the subscription-based sports channel for
Gaelic games Gaelic games () are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the most popular of the s ...
which she was heavily involved in establishing. She later announced she would not be attending Oireachtas committee meetings later in the week for health reasons. On 27 June, RTÉ Acting Director General Adrian Lynch released a nine-page statement, alongside the Grant Thornton report, stating that no member of the Executive Board other than director general Forbes could have known figures publicly declared for Tubridy could have been wrong and that external legal advice found there was "no illegality" and "payments were made pursuant to an agreed contract", adding that while RTÉ Director of Content Jim Jennings signed off on the payments deal, he was "not aware" the broadcaster was "underwriting" any payments that were now under scrutiny and that there was "no finding of wrongdoing" against Tubridy or the commercial partner involved in what happened. Members of the
RTÉ Executive Board The RTÉ Executive Board, despite its name, was not a board of directors, but rather was a committee composed of the senior management of the Irish public service broadcaster, Raidió Teilifís Éireann, responsible for the day-to-day running ...
and
RTÉ Board The RTÉ Board is a body of up to twelve people which makes policy and guiding corporate direction for RTÉ, Ireland's state public broadcaster. The board membership includes the broadcaster's chief officer and one elected staff representative. ...
appeared before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media on 28 June. RTÉ Board chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh stated that she asked Director General Dee Forbes to resign but that this request was not accepted at the time. Ní Raghallaigh also did not tell Minister Catherine Martin of this during their meeting two days before. It was also revealed that Tubridy was due a €120,000 "loyalty bonus" which for some "unexplained reason" was credited against his earnings between 2017 and 2019. It was also reported that Tubridy insisted RTÉ's claim that he was out of contract was inaccurate. RTÉ executives appeared before the
Public Accounts Committee A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subseque ...
(PAC) the next day. RTÉ Chief Financial Officer Richard Collins refused to say what he was earning, then admitted to a base salary of €200,000 with an additional €25,000 car allowance. Collins also admitted that "maybe the taxpayer was defrauded", while details of the RTÉ barter account's use were volunteered: €111,000 spent on trips to
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, €138,000 worth of tickets to rugby matches; €26,000 for one football match in 2019. RTÉ Board chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh stated the €340,000 top-ups to Tubridy salary was an "act designed to deceive". The term "
slush fund A slush fund is a fund or account used for miscellaneous income and expenses, particularly when these are corrupt or illegal. Such funds may be kept hidden and maintained separately from money that is used for legitimate purposes. Slush funds m ...
" was used by former board chair Moya Doherty to describe the RTÉ barter account. On the same day, Center Parcs said it would not be renewing its sponsorship deal with ''
The Ryan Tubridy Show ''The Ryan Tubridy Show'' is a mid-morning talk radio show, presented by Ryan Tubridy each weekday on Virgin Radio UK and simultaneously broadcast on Dublin's Q102 from 10am to 1pm, since January 2024. Tubridy also presents a dedicated Irish we ...
'' (worth €295,000 since November 2022) and also said it might pull out before that time, to prevent its name being tainted by association with RTÉ's secret payments to Tubridy. On 4 July,
Grant Thornton Grant Thornton is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the seventh-largest in the world by revenue and the sixth-largest by number of employees. The network consists of independent accounting an ...
found two more barter accounts at RTÉ, of the type at the centre of secret payments to Tubridy. The two additional barter accounts were with agencies named Active and Miroma (in addition to Astus, the first announced). Past and present members of the RTÉ Executive Board met the Oireachtas Committee on Media the following afternoon for a second consecutive Wednesday. New documents given to the committee showed that RTÉ had used its barter accounts to spend €1.6 million on client entertainment and corporate hospitality over the previous 10 years, paying out hundreds of thousands of euro for alcohol, Ireland jerseys, golf outings, cinema screenings, balloons, lavish hotel stays, client dinners in top restaurants and dozens of match and concert tickets, as well as nearly €5,000 on 200 pairs of flip flops for a summer party. Documentation also confirmed losses at '' Toy Show The Musical'' reached €2.2 million, with just 11,044 tickets being sold for the shows, meanwhile Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly offered to meet with the two committees. The next day, RTÉ's
Gaelic Games Gaelic games () are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the most popular of the s ...
Correspondent
Marty Morrissey Martin Morrissey (born 28 October 1958) is an Irish sports commentator and television presenter. He is the Gaelic games correspondent for RTÉ News and regularly presents high-profile sports events for RTÉ Sport, such as the All-Ireland Senior ...
apologised for an "error of judgement" after he revealed himself as the RTÉ staff member who had a loan of a car from Renault for five years. On the eve of
Kevin Bakhurst Kevin Bakhurst (born December 1965) is an English journalist and media executive who has been the Director General of RTÉ, the Irish national broadcaster, since July 2023. He previously served as the managing director of news and current aff ...
becoming Director General, Rory Coveney resigned from RTÉ and his role as RTÉ Director of Strategy with immediate effect believing that "the tough job ahead of him would be made somewhat easier if he had a fresh lead team". In an email to staff the following morning, Bakhurst stood down the Executive Board and replaced it with an interim leadership team, meanwhile RTÉ Director of Commercial Geraldine O'Leary announced her early retirement with immediate effect. On 11 July, Ryan Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly appeared before two Oireachtas committee meetings, which heard that Tubridy had endured a "tortuous", "chaotic" and "destructive" three weeks during which his name and reputation were "sullied", that he had become "the face of a national scandal; accused of being complicit, deceitful and dishonest" and blamed RTÉ with creating a "fog of confusion over what I was paid and when I was paid, what I knew, and when I knew". On 17 August, it was confirmed that Tubridy would not return to his presenting role in RTÉ after negotiations with Bakhurst collapsed. On 14 February 2024, a hearing of the Oireachtas Media Committee heard that '' Toy Show The Musical'' had not gone to the audit and risk committee and that former Director General Dee Forbes and former Director of Strategy Rory Coveney "deliberately circumvented" established oversights in relation to the musical.


Reactions

On 23 June, the day after RTÉ's admission, the
National Union of Journalists The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) is a trade union supporting journalists in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The NUJ was founded in 1907 and has 20,693 members. It is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Trades ...
(NUJ) held an emergency meeting at RTÉ headquarters, which it had called for the day before. Soon after the news broke, presenters
Claire Byrne Claire Byrne (born 11 August 1975) is an Irish radio and television presenter. Byrne presented ''The Daily Show'' from September 2010 to March 2012. In 2013, she became an anchor on RTÉ's flagship current affairs programme ''Prime Time''. From ...
,
Joe Duffy Joseph Duffy (born 27 January 1956) is an Irish people, Irish radio and TV presenter employed by RTÉ. One of the public service broadcaster's highest-earning stars, he is the current presenter of ''Liveline'', an interview and phone-in chat s ...
and Miriam O'Callaghan all confirmed that their most recently published salaries were correct. On 27 June, around 200 journalists, reporters and correspondents working for RTÉ represented by
SIPTU SIPTU (; ''Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union''; ) is Ireland's largest trade union, with around 200,000 members. Most of these members are in the Republic of Ireland, although the union does have a Northern Ireland District ...
and the NUJ held a protest outside RTÉ headquarters in Donnybrook to speak of their hurt, disappointment and anger at the way a small number of managers had betrayed and badly damaged the organisation and those who worked for it. Those who protested included
RTÉ News RTÉ News and Current Affairs (), also known simply as RTÉ News (''Nuacht RTÉ''), is the national news service provided by Irish public broadcaster (RTÉ). Its services include local, national, European and international news, investigative ...
's Crime Correspondent Paul Reynolds, Legal Affairs Correspondent Orla O'Donnell, Political Correspondent Paul Cunningham and Midlands Correspondent Sinéad Hussey, while other members of staff protested at RTÉ's regional offices, with Northern Editor Vincent Kearney in Belfast and Regional Reporter
Teresa Mannion Teresa Mannion (born 1961) is an Irish people, Irish journalist and Television presenter, broadcaster. She has worked as a broadcast news reporter since 2000 and is currently the RTÉ News regional reporter based in the west of Ireland since 200 ...
in Galway. On 29 June,
Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Leo Varadkar Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2017 to 2020 and from 2022 to 2024, as Tánaiste from 2020 to 2022, and as leader of Fine Gael from 2017 to 2024. A Teachta Dála, ...
interrupted an EU leaders summit in
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
to draw attention to the "unusual, payments in RTÉ", stating: "I don't think we can rule out the fact that it's not just a case of irregular payments — and that some of these payments may have been on the wrong side of the law". On 11 July, RTÉ presenter
Dave Fanning David Fanning (born 27 February 1956) is an Irish television and radio broadcaster, rock journalist, DJ, film critic and author. Fanning currently hosts weekend midday magazine/chat show '' The Dave Fanning Show'' on the Irish national radio st ...
, another client of Tubridy's agent Noel Kelly, invoked
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
as a comparison with the investigations into what RTÉ had been doing with public money. Two days later, this was raised at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), where Fanning's reference to a "nonsensical Oireachtas Nuremberg trial" was put to newly appointed RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst, who was asked "how this is appropriate... A person who is paid by the taxpayer – through his agent oel Kelly– on RTÉ saying, effectively, what the Public Accounts Committee are doing..." Bakhurst responded by stating that Fanning's remarks were "not appropriate". Around 100 RTÉ staff members and union representatives staged another protest at RTÉ headquarters on 12 July to call on the Government to properly fund public service broadcasting. Demonstrations were also held at RTÉ regional offices, including in Cork, where staff members marched with placards.


Involvement of Renault Ireland

The secret payments to Tubridy were effectively routed through
Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
Ireland, a major advertiser on RTÉ, and a frequent sponsor of the Late Late Show. Following the three-way deal, in late July 2020 Renault Ireland paid €75,000 to NK Management for Tubridy’s benefit, on foot of an invoice for “Bespoke Partnership between Renault and Ryan Tubridy”. Within days, RTÉ issued a credit note for €75,000 to Renault Ireland, and there is no evidence that the ‘personal appearances’ by Tubridy for Renault mentioned on the invoice ever happened, making the deal revenue-neutral for Renault. In 2021 and 2022 the payments for Tubridy were made directly from RTÉ to NK Management, as per their ‘underwriting’ of the deal, where RTÉ were liable to make the payment if Renault Ireland did not. During his appearance before the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee, Tubridy said he believed that Renault Ireland were the ultimate source of the funds. Tubridy and Kelly were challenged in this statement by committee members who pointed out that they had complied with RTÉ requests to omit details from invoices, in an apparent effort to disguise the true reason for the payments. The payments were falsely described in RTÉ accounts as ‘consultancy fees’. Commentators have drawn attention to how Renault Ireland facilitated this transaction for no apparent benefit to itself, and on other occasions supplied RTÉ staff members with the free use of cars for years on end, and said that it puts RTÉ in a position to of obligation to the giant motor manufacturer, and linked it to RTÉ’s coverage of climate change and road deaths, which they viewed as overly sympathetic to the motor industry.


Grant Thornton report, "Talent" and Noel Kelly

In the
Grant Thornton Grant Thornton is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the seventh-largest in the world by revenue and the sixth-largest by number of employees. The network consists of independent accounting an ...
report, which the RTÉ Board released on 26 June 2023, Ryan Tubridy is referred to as "The Talent". Tubridy often spoke in public about cuts to his pay, including in 2020 during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. In 2019, he stated: "I've taken a pay cut before, I took over 30pc the last time and they've asked for more, which would bring it up to about 45pc or thereabouts since I took the Late Late Show n 2009.. And when it comes to this sort of issue that's not something I've been found wanting in, and that continues to be the case". However, in early 2009, Tubridy refused to take a pay-cut (even when colleagues such as
Pat Kenny Patrick Kenny (born 29 January 1948) is an Irish broadcaster, who currently hosts the daily radio show ''The Pat Kenny Show'' on Newstalk and the current affairs show ''Pat Kenny Tonight'' on Virgin Media One. Prior to this, Kenny had a 41-ye ...
and
Marian Finucane Marian Finucane ( ; 21 May 1950 – 2 January 2020) was an Irish people, Irish broadcaster with RTÉ. Finucane began working with the national broadcaster in 1974, starting as a continuity announcer. She went on to host ''Women Today'' (1979– ...
agreed to salary cuts), and he attracted criticism for this decision. RTÉ Board chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh, near the conclusion of her opening statement to the Public Accounts Committee on 26 June 2023, commented on the term "talent" as used within RTÉ: "Finally, can I say something about the use of the word 'talent'. Words matter and the term, as it is currently used, reinforces a 'them and us' culture in RTÉ. It implies some have greater worth than others. The first step in cultural change is to consign this term to the dustbin". Ní Raghallaigh did not, however, suggest she would "consign this term to the dustbin". In the Grant Thornton report, Noel Kelly is referred to as "The Talent's Agent". Kelly, who maintains a low profile, runs NK Management, and has been a controversial figure since at least 2011, when he claimed that some of his clients might not be able to afford a second car if RTÉ reduced their wages. In 2009, he was an agent to both
Gerry Ryan Gerard Ryan (4 June 1956 – 30 April 2010) was an Irish people, Irish presenter of radio and television employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). He presented ''The Gerry Ryan Show'' on radio station RTÉ 2fm each weekday morning from 1 ...
and Tubridy as they competed to succeed
Pat Kenny Patrick Kenny (born 29 January 1948) is an Irish broadcaster, who currently hosts the daily radio show ''The Pat Kenny Show'' on Newstalk and the current affairs show ''Pat Kenny Tonight'' on Virgin Media One. Prior to this, Kenny had a 41-ye ...
as presenter of '' The Late Late Show''. Tubridy would offer Noel Kelly's name to his guests: the actress and food writer Holly White said Tubridy gave her Noel Kelly's name after an appearance on his radio show.
Ryan Tubridy Ryan Tubridy (born 28 May 1973) is an Irish broadcaster. He currently presents the weekday mid-morning programme ''The Ryan Tubridy Show'' on Virgin Radio UK, as well as a weekend programme on Sundays. His broadcasting career with RTÉ spanned ...
has referred to Kelly as his ''
Consigliere Consigliere ( , ; plural is a position within the leadership structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel ''The Godfather'' (1969) and its film adaptation. In the novel, a c ...
''. One senior broadcasting executive expressed reservations to ''The Irish Times'' about Kelly's ability to attract other presenters following the secret payments scandal: "Because oel Kellyhas really destroyed Ryan Tubridy's career, by being too smart. Ryan Tubridy had an option to say no, he is not a child. But Ryan Tubridy's career has been destroyed and Noel Kelly is right in the middle of it and there is no other way to twist and turn that". According to ''
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'', Kelly is seen by some as more powerful than the RTÉ Director General and is "widely believed" to offer the media negative stories about RTÉ presenters who are not his clients and whom he perceives as competitors who might get a job ahead of his client. He is known for using "strong language and pointed, personalised criticisms". At that time, Noel Kelly had 46 clients in his "celebrity portfolio", including RTÉ's Tubridy,
Joe Duffy Joseph Duffy (born 27 January 1956) is an Irish people, Irish radio and TV presenter employed by RTÉ. One of the public service broadcaster's highest-earning stars, he is the current presenter of ''Liveline'', an interview and phone-in chat s ...
,
Gráinne Seoige Gráinne Seoige (; born 5 November 1973) is an Irish people, Irish journalist, news anchor and documentary and entertainment television presenter. A noted Irish language supporter, Seoige is the only television personality to have worked with a ...
,
Claire Byrne Claire Byrne (born 11 August 1975) is an Irish radio and television presenter. Byrne presented ''The Daily Show'' from September 2010 to March 2012. In 2013, she became an anchor on RTÉ's flagship current affairs programme ''Prime Time''. From ...
,
Dave Fanning David Fanning (born 27 February 1956) is an Irish television and radio broadcaster, rock journalist, DJ, film critic and author. Fanning currently hosts weekend midday magazine/chat show '' The Dave Fanning Show'' on the Irish national radio st ...
,
Virgin Media Virgin Media Limited is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 ...
's Sinéad Desmond, Martin King and Karen Koster, as well as
Bernard Dunne Bernard Dunne (born 6 February 1980) is an Irish former professional boxer and a former WBA (Regular), and European Super Bantamweight champion. On Saturday 21 March 2009, Dunne defeated Ricardo Cordoba in the 11th round to become the WBA ...
and
Patrick Bergin Patrick Connolly Bergin (born 4 February 1951) is an Irish actor and singer. In 1991, he starred opposite Julia Roberts in '' Sleeping with the Enemy'' and played the title character in ''Robin Hood''. His other roles include terrorist Kevin O' ...
. Kelly and NK Management are also involved in activities in the UK, with clients including
Craig Doyle Craig Doyle (born 17 December 1970) is an Irish television and radio presenter. To British viewers he is recognisable as working for the BBC and ITV and more recently TNT Sports; Irish viewers also know him as the host of RTÉ One chat show ...
,
Diarmuid Gavin Diarmuid Gavin (born 10 May 1964) is an Irish garden designer and television personality. He has presented gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show on nine occasions from 1995 to 2016, winning a number of medals, including gold in 2011. He has als ...
and Erin O'Connor.


Mazars report

A 24-page interim report published by forensic accountants
Mazars Forvis Mazars is an international audit, accounting and consulting business formed in June 2024 by an agreement between Mazars and Forvis. Combined, the firms operate in the US and over 100 other countries, being among the top 10 global audit f ...
on 25 August 2023 found that RTÉ did not appear to have a "formally approved policy and procedure in place" for purchases made through the barter account. Mazars were unable to identify any benefit to RTÉ in exercising the option to make purchases through barter media agencies "rather than cashing out on the available trade credit balance". It was revealed that of the €7.4 million in advertising revenue generated through the barter account, €1.2 million was spent on goods and services which were "outside of RTÉ's standard purchasing and procurement processes", and so internal controls and approvals processes were not followed.


Management pay and exit packages

In documents supplied to the Oireachtas committees studying the Tubridy matter, RTÉ listed the earnings of its 100 highest-paid employees and contractors. All were on base salaries in excess of €116,000, and 84 were employees. Including the members of the
RTÉ Executive Board The RTÉ Executive Board, despite its name, was not a board of directors, but rather was a committee composed of the senior management of the Irish public service broadcaster, Raidió Teilifís Éireann, responsible for the day-to-day running ...
, 69 were management, only 31 being presenters and other technical or non-managerial staff. The Director General was paid €225,000 in 2021, along with a car allowance of €25,000 and pension contributions of €56,000, for a total package of €306,000, while the Chief Financial Officer said he earned around €200,000 plus car allowance of around €25,000 (any pension element was not disclosed). The total staff of the broadcaster is over 1,800, plus contractors. Of these, in 2022, 119 employees had basic pay of over 100,000, 22 of those having salaries of €150,000 — €250,000. 179 staff had salaries of €80,000 — €100,000, 550 between €60,000 and €80,000, and 740 between €40,000 and €60,000. In discussing past and recent executive exits from the company, it further emerged that aside from the high level of management posts, and their salary levels, there were voluntary exit schemes offered by RTÉ's Human Resources function, under which over €2.3 million was paid out to a number of departing figures, with at least one payment rumoured to be on the order of 400,000 euro. The new Director General announced a review of these packages. On 14 February 2024, Director General
Kevin Bakhurst Kevin Bakhurst (born December 1965) is an English journalist and media executive who has been the Director General of RTÉ, the Irish national broadcaster, since July 2023. He previously served as the managing director of news and current aff ...
confirmed at an Oireachtas Media Committee hearing that former RTÉ Chief Financial Officer Breda O'Keeffe was paid €450,000 when she left the organisation. Speaking on RTÉ's ''
Prime Time Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
'' on 22 February, Minister for Media Catherine Martin said she was "deeply disappointed" to learn that the
RTÉ Board The RTÉ Board is a body of up to twelve people which makes policy and guiding corporate direction for RTÉ, Ireland's state public broadcaster. The board membership includes the broadcaster's chief officer and one elected staff representative. ...
had approved an exit package for former chief financial officer Richard Collins despite assurances that the board had no role in signing off on exit packages for senior executives. She refused to express confidence in Siún Ní Raghallaigh, chair of the RTÉ Board. Early the next morning, Ní Raghallaigh resigned as chair of the RTÉ Board, saying it was "abundantly clear" she no longer had the confidence of Minister Martin. Ní Raghallaigh later broke her silence and hit back at Minister Martin around what she described as her "enforced dismissal" designed to "traduce" her reputation.


References

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External links


The Tubridy pay scandal explained: What it's all about and what might happen next

The Explainer: What does the Ryan Tubridy payment scandal mean for the future of RTÉ?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media debate
– Wednesday, 28 June 2023
Committee of Public Accounts debate
– Thursday, 29 June 2023
Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media debate
– Wednesday, 5 July 2023
Committee of Public Accounts debate
– Tuesday, 11 July 2023 (Ryan Tubridy and Noel Kelly)
Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media debate
– Tuesday, 11 July 2023 (Ryan Tubridy and Noel Kelly)
Committee of Public Accounts debate
– Thursday, 13 July 2023 2023 scandals 2023 in the Republic of Ireland June 2023 in Europe July 2023 in Ireland Entertainment scandals Secret payment scandal Scandals in the Republic of Ireland