Tubridy in talks to return to RTÉ on lower salary

Ryan Tubridy is in talks to return to RTÉ on a lower salary – that is, a salary relative to the entertainment industry.

Tubridy has indicated his willingness to accept a salary “significantly less” than €200,000 to host his one-hour weekday radio show, a source told the Irish Times.

His salary for hosting his show on RTÉ Radio One is estimated to have been about €220,000.

In a statement, Tubridy said “I am committed to re-establishing the confidence and trust of my colleagues and listeners, and I hope that any fair assessment of the findings of today’s report will help in this regard.”

An investigation into payments made to Tubridy kickstarted the RTÉ saga that has gripped the nation all summer, which led to Tubridy’s radio show being taken off the air and RTÉ Director General Dee Forbes being forced to resign over her handling of the affair.

Tubridy insists that him being taken off the air was down to his contract, due to expire in summer 2023, not being renewed and has been bullish about a return to RTÉ.

RTÉ has called on Tubridy to clarify an assertion in his statement that his “actual income from RTÉ in 2020 and 2021 matches what was originally published as my earnings for those years”.

The second Grant Thornton audit revealed that Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly did not mislead RTÉ over claims he was on a lesser salary between 2017 and 2019.

The report into Tubridy’s pay was heavily critical of “several failures” by RTÉ as his declared earnings were cut by a total of €120,000 per a 2021 statement on presenter pay.

Discussing the findings of the report, Minister for Media Catherine Martin said she found the lapses in governance at RTÉ “deeply concerning” and called out the “failure of proper internal controls and processes within RTÉ”.