Oliver Callan addressed the RTÉ payments scandal as he filled in for Ryan Tubridy on Radio 1 this morning.
The presenter was absent from his radio show on Friday morning, following revelations his earnings were publicly understated since 2017.
On Thursday, the RTÉ Board issued an apology, after identifying and correcting an error in the public record of Ryan’s salary.
The issue was identified during a routine audit of RTÉ’s 2022 accounts, prompting an independent review of the matter – which found that his actual earnings were understated by €345,000 over the last six years.
Ryan usually presents The Ryan Tubridy Show on RTE Radio 1 between 9 – 10am, Monday to Friday.
But today, the host was replaced by comedian Oliver Callan, and it’s not yet known when Ryan will return to the show.
Opening the show this morning, Oliver said: “It’s Friday – a bit of a weird Friday, I must concede.”
“Clearly this is the last place I expected to be less than 24 hours ago, but here we are, and the reasons are fairly obvious, especially as I get to the review of the newspapers because the usual presenter of the show is the subject of every single front page.
“The wider media, it has to be said, do enjoy a good old RTE scandal – and boy did RTE whip up and serve a cool one for them with a flake on top and sprinkles of shambles.”
Oliver asked listeners to contact the show with messages as usual, before adding: “We have a show for you and the ordinary decent staff of the programme have been working away as they always do very, very early in the morning.
“We’re all here to serve, and bear in mind they are at the receiving end of all those messages here and across the programmes today.”
“It’s an RTE story, so on the one hand we could be accused of talking too much about ourselves, but if I ignored it this morning on this programme I’d be doing a disservice for you.”
The comedian proceeded to read newspaper headlines about the scandal, and said: “I’d say for everyone involved yesterday was like starring in a mini-private episode of Succession with the bombshells and the media chatter, phones buzzing, ‘who’s going to get the blame for this?’, and watching the thing about yourself on the news and television with a fresh pair of underpants within lunging distance, I’d imagine, for everyone concerned.”
On Friday, the RTÉ Board confirmed that Dee Forbes, the broadcaster’s Director General, was suspended from her employment on Wednesday, June 21, amid the controversy.
In a statement, the Board said: “There are processes on-going and RTÉ must be mindful of its legal responsibilities and the rights of individuals. RTÉ will not be commenting further on this issue at this time.”
Dee’s term as Director General was due to end on July 11, before she’s replaced by Kevin Bakhurst.
However, the broadcaster has now revealed she’s been suspended from her employment at RTÉ.
The news came following revelations Ryan Tubridy’s earnings were publicly understated since 2017, which has sent shockwaves across the industry.
In a statement on Thursday, the former Late Late Show host said he was “surprised” by revelations his salary was understated.
He said: “Like many people, I’m surprised by the announcements made in RTÉ’s statement today regarding the errors in the reporting of its accounts.”
“It is unfortunate that these errors are in relation to how RTÉ have reported payments made to me but I just want to be clear: this is a matter for RTÉ and I have no involvement in RTÉ’s internal accounting treatment or RTÉ’s public declarations in connection with such payments.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed to be at the centre of this story but unfortunately, I can’t shed any light on why RTÉ treated these payments in the way that they did nor can I answer for their mistakes in this regard.”
Ryan’s agent NK Management also said in a statement: “We were made aware today of RTÉ’s statement concerning its accounting treatment and public declarations of payments made to Ryan Tubridy.”
“These are matters for which RTÉ has sole responsibility and accountability. There is no issue whatsoever in relation to the payments being properly and lawfully due and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the part of Ryan Tubridy or NK Management.
“These issues are solely concerned with RTÉ’s internal accounting treatment and public declarations in respect of such lawful payments.”
RTÉ bosses are now facing calls to come before two Oireachtas committees to address the controversy surrounding his remuneration, which has been described as a “serious breach of trust with the public”.
Members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) at RTÉ are set to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the issue on Friday.
It’s understood there is huge anger among staff working in RTÉ at the pay revelations.
A source told the Irish Independent: “People working in RTÉ just can’t fathom how this went undetected for so long. In some instances, payments of over half a million euros were made to Ryan Tubridy for one year’s work.”
“At the same time, RTÉ management are going with their begging bowl to the Government calling for a reform of the licence fee structure and extra financial supports.”
“It brings the whole organisation into disrepute and people are understandably angry.”
