New RTÉ bombshells: Letters to Ryan Tubridy, promises to Patrick Kielty, drinks for Renault and more

Fresh revelations about spending at RTÉ will leave senior bosses fighting for survival when they face TDs and senators again.

Yesterday at 23:52

RTÉ has been rocked by a series of damaging new revelations which will leave its top brass fighting for survival at an Oireachtas committee.

It has emerged that there is more than the one barter account which was used to fund secret payments to presenter Ryan Tubridy.

And fresh details have been released about the pay and expenses of senior management.

On foot of the new revelations Finance Minister Michael McGrath twice refused to express confidence in RTÉ’s executive board.

He said they “deserve an opportunity” to explain themselves – but added “there is a lot at stake”.

The new revelations include:

Dee Forbes wrote to Ryan Tubridy promising no pay cuts

Former RTÉ Director General Dee Forbes gave Ryan Tubridy a personal guarantee that his pay would not be cut by the broadcaster.

In July 2020, Ms Forbes wrote to Mr Tubridy confirming he would see no reduction in his pay between April 2020 and March 2025.

“The purpose of this correspondence is to record in writing our guarantee and undertaking that the fees set out in this Agreement will be paid by

RTÉ without any reductions and RTÉ shall not make any request or enquiry from you in relation to a reduction in the agreed fees during the currency of the Agreement save as to those that might be imposed by changes to legislation,” Ms Forbes wrote.

The letter is addressed to Mr Tubirdy at the address of his Tuttle Productions Limited company which is based in Calmount Office Park in Ballymount, Dublin.

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RTÉ’s biggest stars and some of the well-known brands they advertised on social media

RTÉ agreed to pay for food, drink and even guests at Renault events

RTÉ signed up to a contract that would see the broadcaster pay for sets, food, drink and even guests at Renault events.

A mock Late Late Show was to be held in three Renault dealerships each year with Ryan Tubridy who is also a party to the contract which is on NK Management headed party.

It previously emerged that Tubridy would get €25,000 per event – but RTÉ rather than Renault would be on the hook for the money.

A clause called “Event Set Up” in the Renault contract makes clear that the costs of each event would be covered by RTÉ as part of the agreement.

RTÉ agreed to fund:

• Set Build, Event Management and Catering (finger food and refreshments) for 100 people,
• Recreation of The Late Late Show setup with minimum three guests and including music from up-and-coming talent from the location or area of each event.
• Guest would include the host dealer and Renault chief Paddy Magee and a surprise guest.

The contract states that “NK Management and RTÉ will assist Renault to fulfil guest line up for each event on request”.

The show would start with a drinks reception at 6pm followed by the Late Late Show from around 7.30-9pm and then 30 minutes for a Q&A session.

All events were invitation-only, being an exclusive event for each dealership

RTE has already indicated to committee that total set-up costs over the terms of the contract were nearly €50,000, with Renault paying nothing at all in this regard and Montrose bearing the full burden, funded ultimately by the taxpayer and payers of the licence fee.

Patrick Kielty was promised business fights to get to rehearsals

RTÉ promised Patrick Kielty business class flights and at least four-star hotels during rehearsals in the lead up to taking over the Late Late Show.

The presenter has indicated he will forego the benefits, but they are stated in his contract.

During this rehearsal period of 10 days, he will be paid €20,000 on top of the already agreed pay.

He has already revealed his salary of €250,000 and said he has waived travel and accommodation expenses of €50,000 per year.

His contract shows Mr Kielty will be paid €8,333 per episode for hosting the first 30 episodes of The Late Late Show and €8,000 per episode afterwards.

Previous seasons of the Friday night programme have run for around 36 or 37 episodes.

The contract specifies he will have private use of a dressing room with a private bathroom in RTÉ.

He has a right to not broadcast live for three episodes as long as he is free to do a pre-record instead – these include one to be aired on Good Friday, the Country and Western Show and one other date around Christmas.

His contract began on July 1 and is due to expire May 30 2026.

Top 100 RTÉ workers all paid more than €100,000

Among a raft of documents supplied by RTÉ to committee members was a breakdown of pay for the station’s top 100 earners. .

An analysis by the Irish Independent shows all executive board members get between €24,100 and €31,711 in allowances every year as well as salaries between €169,950 and €250,00.

There are 84 staff members and 16 contractors in the top 100 list. Of these, 10 are members of the executive board, 59 people hold management positions and 31 people are presenters or not in management.

At the top of the earnings list are presenters and not manager positions. The top three earners make €515,000, followed by €343,083 and €342,000.