Patrick Kielty, the new host of RTÉ’s The Late Late Show, has revealed he will be paid €250,000 per 30-show season.
The comedian confirmed his salary amid calls for him to do so, in wake of the RTÉ payments scandal.
In a statement, he said: “I’m pleased to finally be able to share that I’ve signed a three-season deal to host The Late Late Show beginning this September.”
“I’m being paid €250,000 per 30 show season. If additional shows are requested by RTÉ, they’ll be paid on a pro-rata basis.
“I’m also receiving a one-off payment of €20,000 to cover the pre-production and rehearsals from now to September.
“The contract allows me to submit flight and accommodation expenses, but I’ve waived this. I’ve made it clear to RTÉ that I will be covering my own flights and accommodation costs.
“I’ve also asked RTÉ to carbon offset my flights. I genuinely hope this helps clarify things going forward. I can’t wait to get started.”
The comedian was announced as the new host of the programme in May, following the departure of Ryan Tubridy.
On Wednesday, the Oireachtas Media Committee held a hearing at Leinster House to discuss the misstating of payments to Ryan Tubridy, which hit headlines last week.
During the hearing, the RTÉ Executive Board and other representatives from the organisation faced tough questioning over the scandal.
Board members Siún Nà Raghallaigh, Anne O’Leary and Robert Shortt attended the meeting, alongside Interim Deputy Director General Adrian Lynch, Director of Strategy Rory Coveney, Director of Commercial Geraldine O’Leary, and Chief Financial Officer Richard Collins.
In the meeting, representatives from RTÉ were asked if they would publish details of Patrick Kielty’s Late Late Show salary, amid calls for them to do so.
Adrian Lynch said they would do so if Patrick agreed for it to be made public.
They also confirmed that the CFO was involved in negotiations, and that the deal still has to come before the remuneration committee – which will take place on Friday.
RTÉ has been at the centre of controversy since it was revealed that Ryan Tubridy’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.
Last week, 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 has since resigned from her role.
On Tuesday, RTÉ released a lengthy statement addressing the misstating of payments to Ryan from 2020 to 2022.
The statement claimed that no member of the RTÉ Executive Board, other than the Director General, had all the necessary information in order to understand that the publicly declared figures for Ryan Tubridy could have been wrong.
The statement did not explain the under-reporting of his pay between 2017 and 2019 as it is the subject of a separate review.
Since the scandal broke, Minister Catherine Martin has ordered a full review of RTÉ’s governance and culture.
The review will assess whether RTÉ’s governance framework is fit for purpose, and will review its approach to financial management, the workplace culture in RTÉ, and relations between senior management and staff.
The earnings of RTÉ’s top presenters will also be subject to an external review to see if their reported salaries are actually correct.
