Ryan Tubridy and RTÉ Director Dee Forbes issue statements over pay scandal

Both presenter Ryan Tubridy and RTÉ Director General Dee Forbes have issued separate statements in recent hours regarding the controversy concerning the presenter's wages.

The recent revelation that Tubridy earned additional payments of €345,000 since 2017 that were kept secret by the national broadcaster has dominated headlines since the damning report was published yesterday.

Tubridy was taken off his Friday morning radio slot, temporarily replaced by Oliver Callan who admitted that it was "a bit of a weird Friday... because the usual presenter of this show was the subject of every single newspaper front page".

It was also revealed by the broadcasting body today that Director General Dee Forbes was suspended by RTÉ amid the controversy. Forbes is due to end her five-year tenure as RTÉ Director General on July 10.

In a statement today, Tubridy said he “apologises unreservedly” for not questioning why RTé published figures about his annual earnings which did not reflect his actual pay from the national broadcaster.

Tubridy apologises “unreservedly” for failing to ask questions as to why his salary was incorrectly reported - but denies the issue led to him leaving the Late Late Show; and says he’s disappointed he won’t be on the radio next week. pic.twitter.com/OZyqHNVszw

— Richard Chambers (@newschambers) June 23, 2023

The presenter said the controversy in no way influenced his departure from The Late Late Show, and admitted that he was disappointed that he is currently unable to present his radio show.

“I am disappointed that RTÉ has decided that for editorial reasons I should not broadcast my radio show next week," Tubridy said in his statement, "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.”

Tubridy maintained in the statement that all RTÉ earnings were included in his company’s accounts, and all his taxes are up to date, insisted that he has taken significant pay cuts from RTÉ, about 40% between its 2012 peak and today (though not the 15% from 2018 that RTE had sought).

In similar fashion, Dee Forbes released a statement regarding the controversy today, saying that yesterday "was an extremely difficult day for all of us who care so deeply about the organisation and the impact of these issues is a matter of profound regret."

Dee Forbes' statement on recent RTÉ controversy

In the statement, Forbes offers no apology, instead clarifying that she has "always prioritised what I believe are the best interests of the organisation, in order to best serve the public".

Forbes ends her statement by saying she will "be making no further comment at this time". One can presume this story will continue to dominate headlines for some time.

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín TD has since called for Dee Forbes, Ryan Tubridy and the Chair of the RTÉ Board to come before the Oireachtas Finance Committee to answer questions about the pay scandal.