RTÉ Director Dee Forbes suspended amid Tubridy payment controversy

RTÉ Director General Dee Forbes was suspended from her job on Wednesday, according to a statement from the RTÉ Board.

The broadcaster has now revealed she was “suspended from her employment” two days ago, saying in the statement that “there are processes on-going and RTÉ must be mindful of its legal responsibilities and the rights of individuals”.

RTÉ chairperson Siún Ní Raghallaigh had appeared on RTÉ’s Six One news yesterday to address the controversy regarding the overpayment of presenter Ryan Tubridy, but she did not reveal during the interview that Dee Forbes had been suspended the previous day.

The news will comes as further shock to RTÉ staff, still processing the revelation that presenter Ryan Tubridy was paid €345,000 more than was publicly known since 2017. Secretary of the RTÉ group of Trade Unions Cearbhall Ó Siocháin told RTÉ's Morning Ireland that the reaction of workers was “largely one of fury and disappointment” at the news of the secret payments.

“What happened here is that we were actually lied to on a number of occasions. So it would be helpful if going forward, Dee Forbes came out and set the record straight about this," Ó Siocháin said.

Forbes is due to end her five-year tenure as RTÉ Director General on July 10, and in response to a media query on Monday had said she was “currently taking annual leave but remains in the role of Director General until the end of her term”.

Breaking - The RTÉ Board has confirmed that Dee Forbes, the Director General, was suspended from her employment on Wednesday 21 June 2023.

— Paul Cunningham (@RTENewsPaulC) June 23, 2023

Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Minister for Culture and Media Catherine Martin addressed the controversy, saying that she wants to be informed of the actions that will be taken by RTÉ to ensure this type of discrepancy is not repeated.

Asked about concerns over the lack of awareness of the RTÉ Board, Minister Martin said she believes that "part of what needs to happen is that wider transparency and governance issues need to be looked at here."

"I think for the sake of transparency, it is good that announcement has been made," she continued. “Public service broadcasting is so, so important to society and to democracy and there’s no doubt that damage has been done here and that the trust has been damaged with the public.

“There is a lot of damage that has been done with staff as well and that is something that the board needs to work on, rebuilding the trust.”

Minister Martin intends to meet with the Chair of the RTÉ Board on Monday.