Ryan Tubridy has said “no discussions” were had about the “merit and credibility” of the excess payments he received from RTÉ.
The 50-year-old and his agent Noel Kelly will face six hours of questioning by two Oireachtas Committees today.
The pair will appear before the Public Accounts Committee at 11.30am, and the Media Committee at 3pm.
When questioned as to whether he had any discussions about the “merit and credibility” of accepting excess payments from RTÉ at the beginning of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ryan stated: “My agent and friend Noel Kelly here – it’s his job to get the best deal”.
Chair of the Public Accounts Committee Brian Stanley probed: “Under your instructions…”
Ryan said: “In terms of the financial implications… It wasn’t problematic in that sense.”
Mr Stanley asked whether there were discussions about the “reputational damage,” as Ireland was being shut down, and regular citizens were receiving the bare minimum in COVID-19 payments.
The 50-year-old claimed he “always [has] doubts about doing too much”.
When prompted to outline that there was “no conversation” had about the excess payments and their implications, Ryan explained he and his agent work on a basis of “you do your job, and I do mine that’s how it works,” and that he “trusts in the process”.
RTÉ was plunged into chaos when it was revealed that Ryan’s earnings were publicly understated by €345,000 over the last six years.
The issue was identified during a routine audit of RTÉ’s 2022 accounts, prompting an independent review of the matter.
The RTÉ Board issued an apology over the error, and later Ryan also apologised for not questioning RTÉ over his published earnings.
The scandal resulted in the suspension of RTÉ’s Director General Dee Forbes, who later resigned from her role.
Earlier this month, the RTÉ Board and executives arrived at Leinster House to provide evidence to the joint committee on tourism, culture, arts, sport and media amid the ongoing scandal.
The following day, they arrived at Leinster House once again, this time to face questioning from the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee.
During the initial hearing, it emerged that RTÉ underwrote a commercial sponsorship of Ryan by Renault.
RTÉ labelled invoices of €75,000 payments as “consultancy fees” and the now-infamous barter account was used to pay them.
