PAY DETAILS | 

RTÉ’s Claire Byrne reveals new salary on air and brands Ryan Tubridy scandal ‘heart breaking’

Claire Byrne took a €70,000 salary cut after dropping her Monday night TV show

Today at 10:17

RTÉ presenter Claire Byrne has revealed she is now being paid €280,000 – a drop of €70,000 since gave up her Monday night television show.

The broadcaster made a lengthy statement at start of her radio programme this morning, saying she wanted to be honest with listeners.

“I hope you can trust me,” she said, adding that she realised this is an amount “way beyond what many people would hope to earn”.

Ms Byrne got another €25,000 payment for presenting ‘Ireland’s Smartest’ on television.

These fees were negotiated by NK Management, the same talent firm involved in the Ryan Tubridy payment scandal.

However, Ms Byrne said she has not taken any commercial payments such as those made through the Barter account at the centre of the Tubridy controversy.

She went on to say that the €350,000 figure published in relation to her salary for recent years was accurate – even though it is the subject of a review of Grant Thornton.

Ms Byrne said she learned of the news of Ryan Tubridy’s extra payments through the news like everybody else and found the public reaction “nothing short of heart breaking”.

The move by Ms Byrne to reveal her salary details will put pressure on other top 10 presenters to do likewise – but she said this was not her intention.

“I felt that for me it was the right thing to do this morning,” she told listeners.

Ms Byrne was the clear frontrunner to replace Ryan Tubridy as the presenter of the Late Late Show but withdrew from the contest in early May.

She cited her young family and the fact she loves her daily radio programme as the key reasons behind her decision.

It comes on another dramatic morning in RTÉ as director general Dee Forbes resigned with immediate effect.

“As director general, I am the person ultimately accountable for what happens within the organisation,” she said in a statement.

“I take that responsibility seriously. I am tendering my resignation to RTÉ with immediate effect.”

She said she was “deeply sorry for what has happened and my part in this episode and for that I apologise unreservedly to everyone”.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin today said he believes “there should be a full presentation to the Dáil committee.”

“Obviously, the former director general has knowledge of the entire situation and has to be in a position to clarify issues to the Oireachtas committee so, Government wants as full a presentation as possible at that Oireachtas committee,” he said, speaking to Morning Ireland.

Ms Forbes is among a number of key RTÉ figures who have been invited before two Oireachtas committees this week as the scandal surrounding hidden RTÉ payments continues to unfold.

There is huge anger both within RTÉ and among the public at large as the fallout continues from the €345,000 in hidden payments to presenter Ryan Tubridy.

The issue of corporate governance at RTÉ will be discussed at the Oireachtas Media Committee on Wednesday followed by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday.

In her statement, Ms Forbes accused 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 added.

Ms Forbes said 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.

She said RTÉ had “never expected to become liable for them and had not budgeted for them” and the arrangement fell through in part due to the fact commitments could not be met during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sinn Féin TD Imelda Munster, a member of both Oireachtas committees seeking answers from RTÉ this week, says Ms Forbes is now “not compelled to attend” either meeting following her resignation.

“She could actually volunteer to attend the committee in the interest of transparency and accountability,” Ms Munster told Morning Ireland

“And if, as she says in her resignation statement, she cares deeply about RTÉ and the people that work for it, then she needs to come and answer the questions.”

She added that if Ms Forbes does not attend, she will be doing RTÉ and its staff a “huge disservice.”

The committee is inviting members of the Executive Board and the Chief Financial Officers, including Ms Forbes, to address the issue of corporate governance.

Minister Neale Richmond said the departure of Ms Forbes from RTÉ was not a “massive surprise,” though the statement “raises more questions than it provides answers.”

Speaking on Morning Ireland, he said he is “not rooted in the personalities” that attend the committee and is instead focused on ensuring “all the information is provided.

“I would like to see full cooperation from senior management at both committees this week,” he said, adding that it’s important the process takes place “without the bias or a prejudgment from a government minister.”

Professor Jane Suitor of the Institute for Future Media at Dublin City University added that Ms Forbes’ resignation statement did not provide the “crucial” answers to the question: “Why was the Oireachtas and the public not told about this?

“I think the other interesting thing is that she is very explicitly bringing other senior colleagues into the loop, making it very clear that she didn’t act alone.”

She said it would be a “grave error” for RTÉ to not provide the Oireachtas with a detailed response to key questions this week.

“If politicians are not fully satisfied in the next week or two, then the Minister [for Media] is going to have to take some very serious decisions,” Prof Suiter added.