RTÉ made it seem Tubridy's salary below €500k

Ryan TubridyPA Media

At a glance

  • Irish broadcaster RTÉ adjusted the publicly published salary of former Late Late Show host Ryan Tubridy, a report has found

  • Incorrect salary figures were reported for Mr Tubridy between 2017 and 2019

  • Neither Mr Tubridy nor his agent were involved in the adjustments

  • The culture minister said the report's findings were deeply concerning

Irish broadcaster RTÉ adjusted the publicly published salary of former Late Late Show host Ryan Tubridy to make it seem he earned less than €500,000 (£428,000), a report has concluded.

Accountancy firm Grant Thornton found this was a plausible explanation for why incorrect salary figures were reported for Mr Tubridy between 2017 and 2019.

The report said neither Mr Tubridy nor his agent were involved in the adjustments.

It also highlighted poor governance by RTÉ's management.

This included significant deficiencies in internal management controls, failures in finance and a lack of communication from the broadcaster's executive to its board, the report said.

An audit of RTÉ's finances previously found Mr Tubridy was paid €345,000 (£296,800) more than was declared publicly between 2017 and 2022.

The former RTÉ director general Dee Forbes resigned over the deal.

It was subsequently claimed that no member of RTÉ's executive board could have known figures published for Mr Tubridy's pay were wrong other than Ms Forbes.

Mr Tubridy subsequently told the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that RTÉ had "engaged in deceptive practices to pay me, practices that were hidden from me".

He has not appeared on RTÉ since the scandal broke.

Responding to the report, the presenter said he welcomed the findings.

Mr Tubridy said it was clear his "actual income" from RTÉ in 2020 and 2021 matched what was originally published as his earnings for those years.

He said he would publish the details of any future RTÉ contract.

'Deeply concerning'

RTÉ is funded by a licence fee and the government had previously insisted that management must provide full clarity on payments made to Mr Tubridy.

Irish culture minister Catherine Martin welcomed the report but described its findings as "deeply concerning".

"The report highlights further lapses in governance and failure of proper internal controls and processes within RTÉ," she said, adding that RTÉ needed to "act with urgency" to restore public confidence in the broadcaster.

Chairperson of RTÉ Siún Ní Raghallaigh said the report painted "a picture of poor internal communication and weak processes" at the broadcaster.

"Regrettably this report confirms our view of the siloed management culture that has prevailed in RTÉ," she said.