Here is what they have said so far about the ongoing payments controversy at the national broadcaster.
Thursday June 22
10am
Ryan Tubridy signs off from his Radio One Show.
3pm
RTÉ releases an explosive statement revealing that the earnings of the former Late Late Show host had been misstated.
The statement says the board considers the public misstating of RTÉ’s financial information “to be a very serious matter” and argued it had “moved as quickly as it could, once it had independently established the facts, to publish the correct figures.”
During a routine audit of RTÉ’s 2022 accounts, an issue was identified in “the transparency of certain payments” resulting in consultants Grant Thornton being commissioned to carry out an independent review of the matter.
RTÉ reveals its board were informed of the results of the fact-finding review on Monday.
The broadcaster made two payments of €75,000 to Tubridy in 2022. They were intended to come from a commercial partner but, when this arrangement was not renewed, RTÉ made the payments via a ‘barter account’ as they had already been under written and guaranteed.
In addition, Grant Thornton found RTÉ had understated the presenter’s earnings by €120,000 during the period of 2017 to 2019.
5.09pm
Responding to the news, Ryan Tubridy says in a statement that he was “surprised” to learn about “errors” in the publicly stated payments by RTÉ.
He says it was “unfortunate” that the errors were in relation to payments made to him.
“This is a matter for RTÉ and I have no involvement in RTÉ’s internal accounting treatment or RTÉ’s public declarations in connection with such payments,” he said.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed to be at the centre of this story but unfortunately, I can’t shed any light on why RTÉ treated these payments in the way that they did, nor can I answer for their mistakes in this regard.”
In the same statement, his management company, NK Management, also says the matters are RTÉ’s “sole responsibility.”
“There is no issue whatsoever in relation to the payments being properly and lawfully due and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the part of Ryan Tubridy or NK Management,” they add.
“These issues are solely concerned with RTÉ’s internal accounting treatment and public declarations in respect of such lawful payments.”
Minister Catherine Martin says she is “extremely concerned” about the revelations and arranges a meeting with the chairperson of the RTÉ Board, Siún Ní Raghallaigh.
It is stated that RTÉ director general Dee Forbes, due to depart from her role in July, is currently on annual leave but “remains contactable.”
6pm
On the Six One News, Ms Ní Raghallaigh confirms Tubridy will not present his show on Friday morning.
“The board does not have… editorial is not our function. But I am informed by the executive that he will not be on the radio tomorrow,” she says.
Asked whether Tubridy will be on the radio next week, Ms Ní Raghallaigh replies: “That’s a matter for the executive.”
She denies that there was any correlation between the issue and the decision for the presenter to step down as host of the Late Late Show.
Friday June 23
9am
Comedian Oliver Callan takes over Tubridy’s slot on RTÉ Radio One, telling listeners the broadcaster served up the scandal with a “sprinkle of shambles.”
11.41am
Former chair of the RTÉ board Moya Doherty, who finished her term in November 2022, says in a statement that “at no time” during her tenure did she have knowledge of the payments.
“At no time during my tenure as Chair of the RTE Board did I, or other members of the Board, have knowledge of any issue relating to certain payments and the profoundly serious lack of transparency involved,” she said.
“The matters which have come to light go to the heart of a failure of good corporate governance.”
11.58am
It emerges that Ms Forbes is not on annual leave as was previously stated, but was actually suspended from her role in RTÉ on Wednesday. In a statement, the board says: “The RTÉ Board confirms that Dee Forbes, the Director General was suspended from her employment on Wednesday 21 June 2023.
“There are processes on-going and RTÉ must be mindful of its legal responsibilities and the rights of individuals.
“RTÉ will not be commenting further on this issue at this time.”
12pm
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says he is “very concerned” at the information set out in RTÉ’s statement and the announcement that Director General Dee Forbes has been suspended.
4.30pm
Ryan Tubridy makes a second statement, this time apologising for not “asking questions” when his earnings were published.
“’Further to my statement yesterday, I wish to respond to issues in the last 24 hours arising from RTÉ’s accounting treatment and publication of payments made to me between 2017 and 2022.
“RTÉ’s accounting treatment and publication of payments made to me between 2017 and 2022 contained serious errors. 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.
“For the avoidance of doubt, all my earnings from RTÉ have at all times been included in my company’s accounts that were prepared by my accountant and filed with the Companies Registration Office and all my taxes are up to date.
“My filed accounts with details of these earnings have previously been reported on in the media.
“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 40%.
“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.”
“Finally, 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.”
Saturday June 24
5pm
Following a meeting with the chair of the RTÉ board, Minister for Media Catherine Martin says there will be an external review into corporate governance at RTÉ, with a decision on reform of the licence fee “paused”. The review could take six or seven months, she says.
“While as Minister I cannot get involved in the day to day operation of RTÉ, I do need assurance that the governance and culture is fit for purpose,” she says.
“Public trust in RTE must be rebuilt. Therefore, a Government decision on the future funding model for public service broadcasting has been paused until such time as this review is complete and the findings considered.”
“My officials will develop Terms of Reference in this regard over the coming week, and I will expect the full co-operation of the RTÉ Board and senior executives in engaging with this review and in engaging with Oireachtas Committees in the coming period.”
Sunday June 25
Senior executives at RTÉ – including Dee Forbes – are invited to appear before the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee and Media Committee.
At a film event in Belfast with boxer Carl Frampton, incoming Late Late Show host Patrick Kielty is quizzed about the furore.
Members of the media were warned in advance of the show that Kielty would not be taking questions on the controversy around the broadcaster.
A spokesperson for RTÉ said this decision was made as RTE “is not ready to launch the Late Late Show plans” as of yet and didn’t want to “take away from the documentary festival”.
The spokesperson said it was not as a result of the payment scandal engulfing the station.
“We want to launch the new season of the Late Late Show properly later in the summer,” they said.
Despite all that, Kielty was still quizzed briefly on the RTÉ fallout.
But all he would say was: “I’d need a few more beers before I could talk about that.”
Monday June 26
7.30am
Dee Forbes tenders her resignation as RTÉ director general with immediate effect.
“As Director General, I am the person ultimately accountable for what happens within the organisation,” she says in a statement.
“I take that responsibility seriously. I am tendering my resignation to RTÉ with immediate effect.”
She says she is “deeply sorry for what has happened and my part in this episode and for that I apologise unreservedly to everyone.”
Ms Forbes accuses the RTÉ Board of not treating her “with anything approaching the levels of fairness, equity and respect that anyone should expect as an employee, a colleague or a person.
“All of this has had a very serious and ongoing impact on my health and wellbeing,” she adds.
Ms Forbes says she has “no knowledge” of publicly undisclosed payments made to Ryan Tubridy between 2017 and 2019 and was only aware of the “commercial agreement” in place between 2020 and 2022 where the payments of €75,000 were made to the presenter through a barter account.
8.38am
Statement by the Board of RTÉ in response to the public announcement by Dee Forbes.
The Board said: “We acknowledge receipt this morning of correspondence from Dee Forbes confirming her resignation as Director General with immediate effect. We note the contents of her accompanying statement.
“Representatives of the RTÉ Board and Executive will be attending the Joint Oireachtas Committee and Public Accounts Committee this week.”
8.50am
Tánaiste Micheál Martin tells Morning Ireland that “there should be a full presentation to the Dáil committee” despite the resignation of Ms Forbes.
9am
Comedian Oliver Callan again hosts The Ryan Tubridy Show on RTÉ Radio One in the absence of the presenter.
10am
RTÉ Radio One host Claire Byrne opens her show by declares her own salary live on air, telling listeners she now receives €280,000 – a drop of €70,000 since she stopped presenting her Monday night television show.
“I’ve never sought, been offered or discussed any sort of commercial or side deal,” she says.
Ms Byrne said the disclosure felt like “the right thing” to do, adding it was “heartbreaking” to hear the public’s perception of RTÉ may be impacted by the controversy.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar later tells reporters that it might be “sensible” for other top-earners at RTÉ to follow in her footsteps.
“I think they’re going to want to do that. Inevitably, they’re all going to be asked about the fees that they receive, whether they receive additional fees indirectly,” he said.
“So, I think it makes sense, it is up to them of course, but I think it makes sense, that it’s sensible from their point of view for them to clarify that, yes.”
1pm
The RTÉ Board releases a statement saying they will release a “comprehensive statement” tomorrow about the situation.
The Board says it will publish “as much as possible” of the Grant Thornton review tomorrow.
“RTÉ is acutely aware that the issues that were communicated by the RTÉ Board in its statement last Thursday have raised profound questions,” the statement said.
“The public, public representatives and RTÉ staff want to know what happened, how it happened and who is accountable. We are very mindful of the need to provide clarity as soon as possible, and we are committed to doing so.
“As per the RTÉ Board statement last Thursday, the circumstances that led to the misstatement of Ryan Tubridy’s earnings from 2017-2019 are separately being reviewed by Grant Thornton and therefore will not be included in tomorrow’s statement.
“Members of the RTÉ Board and Executive will be represented at the Joint Oireachtas Committee and the Public Accounts Committee this week,” they added.
“We have no further comment to add at this time.”
This week, senior executives of the public broadcaster will appear before the Media Committee and the Public Accounts Committee.
It is not clear whether former director general Dee Forbes will attend the meetings.
3pm
At the end of his show, RTÉ 1 Liveline host Joe Duffy discloses he received €351,000 in fees from the broadcaster in the past year – €300,000 for his radio work and €51,000 for TV projects.
The broadcaster said he signed a four-year contract in 2019 and this year agreed to a two-year extension with the “exact same conditions, no changes and no increases”.
He said he only agreed to a four-year contract as he “didn’t know what health I would be in in 2023”, but that RTÉ asked if a clause could be inserted which would give the option of invoking an extra two years.
“I said I would gladly do another two years,” he said.
His TV projects this year include The Meaning of Life.
“I’ve never been offered, never rejected, never received, never been involved in any outside… the figures that are on my contract are the exact figures I receive,” he added.
3.30pm
Brendan O’Connor confirms that his pay is €245,004 – the same figure he received in 2021.
The Sunday Independent columnist presents his RTÉ Radio 1 show on Saturdays and Sundays between 11am and 1pm.
In 2019, the radio presenter earned €220,000 from RTÉ. This increased to €238,753 in 2020, and to €245,004 in 2021.
5pm
RTÉ 1 Prime Time host Miriam O’Callaghan releases a statement saying that the most recent published fee of €263,500 which she received in 2021 is still correct.
Ms O’Callaghan said: “For the purpose of transparency, honesty and clarity, I want to put on the record that my most recently published fee from RTÉ – €263,500 – is correct, as are the published fees for previous years. I have never received additional payments from RTÉ that were not publicly declared.”
The broadcaster said there is “profound shock, anger and sadness” among staff working at Montrose.
She added: “It’s hard to put into words how incredibly sad I have been since this story broke last Thursday. I had no idea this was coming down the tracks. I feel you, our listeners and viewers, have been badly let down. I love RTÉ – it’s a wonderful place to work, full of superb people who work very hard and conscientiously every day to deliver good programmes.
“Right now, there’s profound shock, anger and sadness among everyone working there.
“All we can do as journalists now, is cover this story as rigorously as we cover every other story.”
5.50pm
News at One presenter Bryan Dobson makes a statement about his salary.
Mr Dobson said: “RTÉ publishes on air presenter salaries which, as far as I can see, have always fully accounted for my earnings. I don’t propose to add to that.”
A statement from RTÉ on behalf of Mr Dobson detailed that the most recently published figures show Mr Dobson took a pay cut between 2020 and 2021. In 2019, the former Six One News presenter received €209,282. In 2020, he got a pay rise, bringing his total salary to €217,332. But in 2021, his salary dropped back again to €209,282.
6.40pm
Morning Ireland presenter Mary Wilson – who is a staff member – said her salary is €196,961.
“I have no top-ups, additions or payments from any other sources,” she added.
In 2019, she earned €196,961. In 2020, her salary went up to €204,537. In 2021, it dropped back to down to 2019 figures and remains at this.
8.50pm
RTÉ Radio 1 News At One presenter Aine Lawlor confirms her salary is in line with what was previously reported. She was paid €183,662 in 2020.