RTÉ has no plans for Tubridy return 'for now'

There are no plans for Ryan Tubridy to return to RTÉ presenting "for now", the Irish state broadcaster's director general has said.

Mr Tubridy has been off-air since 22 June, when controversy over the under-declaration of his salary was first revealed by the RTÉ board.

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

Some of the undisclosed payments to Mr Tubridy from RTÉ were made through a UK-based "barter account" operated by the organisation, but there is confusion over how exactly that was done.

RTÉ is funded using advertising revenue as well as a TV licence fee.

'Trust between parties has broken down'

In an email to staff, director general Kevin Bakhurst said that negotiations with Mr Tubridy were entered into with good faith "in the hopes of reaching an agreement that would see Ryan return to his RTÉ Radio 1 show".

Mr Bakhurst said: "I have decided not to continue with negotiations and, as such, there are no plans for Ryan to return to his presenting role with RTÉ at this time.

"Despite having agreed some of the fundamentals, including fee, duration and hours, regretfully, it is my view that trust between the parties has broken down."

Mr Bakhurst concluded his email by saying "who knows what the future holds".

However, he added that "for now" he is concluding negotiations with Mr Tubridy.

RTÉ's board on Wednesday acknowledged governance “failures” over Mr Tubridy’s pay as it released a long-awaited report by accountants Grant Thornton.

In a statement on Wednesday, the former Late Late Show host welcomed the latest report.

The report found a plausible explanation for the under-declaration of Mr Tubridy's earnings in 2017, 2018 and 2019 by €120,000 was RTÉ's objective to achieve a position where his earnings for each year were below €500,000.

It also stated that Mr Tubridy had no involvement in the adjustments made by the broadcaster in 2020 to his published earnings for the 2017 to 2019 period.

Meanwhile, the chair of an Irish parliament committee has confirmed that members will meet in a private session next Tuesday to discuss the payments controversy at RTÉ.