TE’s highest paid presenter Ryan Tubridy is to appear before the two committees on Tuesday, in what may decide his return to the airwaves.
His agent Noel Kelly will also appear, along with their solicitor who has told the parliamentary committees that they will clarify a number of matters and provide “important information”.
The hotly anticipated committee appearance comes after weeks of bruising revelations at Ireland’s public service broadcaster.
Scrutiny of governance and financial affairs at RTE began after it admitted that fees paid to its star presenter Tubridy had been underdeclared by 345,000 euro over the period 2017 to 2022.
RTE executives subsequently explained that the sponsor of RTE’s flagship Late Late Show programme, Renault, paid Mr Tubridy 75,000 euro in 2020 under a tripartite deal, but then pulled out of the arrangement.
Two 75,000 euro payments made to Tubridy for the years 2021 and 2022 were made by RTE as it had underwritten the amounts due to Tubridy – in what TDs were told was a verbal agreement made on a Microsoft Teams meeting in May 2020.
Grant Thornton is probing the amounts that RTE said led to Tubridy’s fees from 2017-2019 being underdeclared; this report is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.
On his first day as RTE director general, Kevin Bakhurst told reporters that whether Tubridy would return to the airwaves remained undecided.
Mr Bakhurst also suggested his fate could be determined by what emerges at the Public Accounts Committee and Media Committee hearings – calling for “maximum transparency” from both Tubridy and his agent.
Tubridy has not presented his weekday morning radio programme since the issues at RTE came to light on June 22.
He has apologised “unreservedly” for not asking questions when RTE published incorrect figures for his earnings, and said he was looking forward to returning to his radio show.
He also denied that the undeclared payments issue formed part of his decision to step down as Late Late Show host.
Noel Kelly – who represents several high-profile RTE presenters, as well as former Late Late Show host and Newstalk presenter Pat Kenny – will also be answering TDs’ and senators’ questions on Tuesday.
Mr Bakhurst said on Monday that on-air RTE staff using agents to represent them was under “close consideration”, while the Tanaiste Micheal Martin has expressed concern about the predominance of the “culture of the agent” at RTE.
“I think it’s really important we see what comes out in the committees,” Mr Bakhurst told reporters on Monday.
“I want to see maximum transparency from Ryan and his agent in that committee, and I want to see maximum transparency from RTE and we’ll be putting more documents out to ensure that happens.
“And I want honesty and I want transparency and then we’ll make a judgment.”
When asked whether legal action was being threatened over Tubridy’s treatment in recent weeks, Mr Bakhurst said “no”.
Tubridy and Mr Kelly will appear before the Committee of Public Accounts at 11am, while the Media committee hearing begins at 3pm.
These will mark the fourth and fifth committee appearances on the RTE controversy in three weeks, with two more hearings due to take place later in the week.
Mr Bakhurst is due to appear before the Committee of Public Accounts on Thursday, his fourth day as director general, alongside RTE executives.
