Ryan Tubridy lists ‘7 untruths’ about pay scandal in explosive Oireachtas opening statement

Simon Kelly

RTÉ have already fired back at the former Late Late Show host.

Ryan Tubridy has released an explosive opening statement ahead of his meetings with the Oireachtas today. In it, he takes aim at RTÉ management, citing seven “untruths” that have been circulating.

The presenter will first face the Public Accounts Committee this morning, Tuesday July 11, with his agent Noel Kelly.

Before the meeting has even taken place, both Tubridy and RTÉ have issued statements taking aim at each other.

Tubridy’s statement about RTÉ’s “untruths” reads as follows:

“The first untruth is : The claim that I did not take a pay cut from RTÉ in 2020.

“This is not true. I took a 20% pay cut from RTÉ in my 2020-2025 contract. That’s it. I took a 20% pay cut from RTÉ. I am obliged to do 205 Radio shows and 38 live 2-hour Late Late Shows under this contract.

“I am an independent contractor. I get no pension or entitlements from RTÉ. Under the terms of my contract I am allowed to do additional work outside of RTÉ. I stress that there is nothing morally, ethically or legally wrong with me or any independent contractor doing additional work for another client outside of RTÉ.

“But to be clear- I took a pay cut from RTÉ of 20% in 2020 for each of the five years of my contract, at a cost of €525,000 to me over the length of that contract.

“The second untruth is: The suggestion that my decision to retire from the Late Late Show was prompted by this whole debacle?

“This is not true. I was not aware of any of this debacle when I decided to retire from the Late Late Show

“I made my initial decision to leave The Late Late Show almost a year ago. Around this time, I mentioned it to those closest to me, my family and my agent. They were surprised, very surprised to say the least.

“I explained to them that, among other things, I had left a lot on the studio floor after Covid. I was burnt out and exhausted – like so many people in the country. I turned it over in my mind over a few months, but by the time I got to January, I was absolutely certain of my decision. I was convinced that it was time to go.

“There is ZERO connection between my departure and this very raw situation of recent weeks.

I informed management on March 13th of this year. I first became aware of the Grant Thornton review in May – some two months later. Even then, I had no inkling of the bombshell which was to come when RTÉ released their statement on June 22nd.

“The third untruth is: That I was covertly or secretly ‘overpaid’ by RTÉ. This is not true. I was not overpaid by RTÉ at any point. I fully accept I am very well-paid but I was paid fully in accordance with my contract, which my agent negotiated openly, honestly and in good faith. There are no over-payments.

“There are RTÉ’s under-declarations – which we challenged them on back in 2020– and there are RTÉ’s over-declarations of what they actually paid me in 2020 and 2021. This has caused justifiable anger among my colleagues. I understand their anger. The upshot of RTÉ’s inaccurate declarations is an impression that I have been less than honest. This is not the case.

“The fourth untruth is: That I was aware that RTÉ were trying to conceal payments to me This is not true. I was not aware that RTÉ were concealing payments to me. RTÉ acknowledge this in their statement of 27th June 2023 when they stated that Grant Thornton had made no findings against me.

“The fifth untruth: That there was a secret agreement with Renault that I tried to conceal.

“The sixth untruth: That RTÉ’s underwriting of Renault’s payment obligations was a secret.

“This is not true. RTÉ’s underwriting of Renault’s payment obligations was NOT a secret. As the documents we have prepared for you today show, and as my agent will explain in more detail,

“RTÉ committed in February 2020 to provide this guarantee in the early stages of contract negotiations around my 2020-2025 contract. This is unequivocally confirmed in an email dated 20 February 2020 from Breda O’Keeffe to my agent. It was copied to other members of the executive board, the DG and RTÉ’s solicitors’ office. Everyone in RTE who needed to know knew. (You’ll find this on page 10 of the booklet of documents provided to you this morning).

RTÉ fires back after Ryan Tubridy releases opening statement.

The national broadcaster was quick to return fire before Tubridy faces the Oireachtas committees today.

In its statement, RTÉ said:

“RTÉ rejects the claim that an incorrect version of events was presented to the Joint Oireachtas Committee and/or to the Dáil Committee of Public Accounts regarding RTÉ’s agreement to underwrite payments of €75,000 per contract year due to Mr Tubridy.

“For clarity, the claim relates specifically to an email that was sent by the former CFO of RTÉ to NK Management on 20 February 2020, which is being characterised as a contractual commitment on the part of RTÉ to underwrite the payments in question. RTÉ does not accept this characterisation.

“RTÉ’s position is that the email of 20 February 2020 formed part of the discussions and engagement between it and NK Management in relation to the proposed new TV and radio contract with Mr Tubridy/Tuttle Productions and did not comprise a binding legal or contractual commitment on its part.

RTÉ’s position is as per previous statements: that, until the verbal commitment given by the former Director General during the call on 7 May 2020, it had not agreed to underwrite the €75,000 payment per contract year.”

Follow all the Oireachtas committee hearings from 11am – featuring Ryan Tubridy’s appearance – in our live news feed.