Ryan Tubridy has landed his first presenting gig since his RTÉ exit.
The former Late Late Show host presented a discussion on pensions and financial advice as part of Pensions Awareness Week.
According to The Sunday Independent, the 50-year-old recorded the discussion behind closed doors in the D-Light studios on Aungier Street, Dublin on Thursday afternoon.
Ryan was joined at the event by his former RTÉ colleague Gráinne Seoige and entrepreneur Liz Dwyer.
The tag line for his first talk was ‘Rediscovering yourself in your second life’.
An introduction to the slot reads: “When you walk away from the job, which has filled that work slot during your adult life, you are likely to experience a sense of loss, of dislocation.”
“Work for most people involves far more than the actual role they perform in their professional life. For many of us, it gives us our sense of self, our identity, in a profound way.”
Ryan reportedly spent the day hosting a “coaching session” with guidance counsellors Brian Mooney, before hosting a panel discussion on pensions for SME companies.
It comes amid reports Ryan is set to join News UK, after having discussions with the group during his recent trip to London.
The company owns Talk TV, Talk Radio, and Virgin Radio, along with seven radio stations in Ireland – including FM104 and Q102.
A source told The Mirror that Ryan is “extremely happy” about the possibility of an on air position with the group, although nothing has been confirmed as of yet.
Ryan was pulled from RTÉ’s airwaves back in June, after it was revealed his earnings were publicly understated by €345,000 over the last six years.
Negotiations over his RTÉ radio contract had been put on hold amid the ongoing payment scandal, but RTÉ boss Kevin Bakhurst then confirmed that they had resumed.
While Ryan’s return to RTÉ seemed promising, Mr Bakhurst ceased negotiations with the presenter after he released a statement addressing the second Grant Thornton report.
Speaking on Prime Time, Mr Bakhurst confirmed they were “very close” to an agreement before Ryan’s statement.
The RTÉ boss said: “I don’t actually feel Ryan was best served by the people around him who advised him on making that statement.”
“I felt we were in a good place. We had a core agreement for Ryan to come back and the statement issued, which, you know, once again, questioned the newly stated salaries, which are correct.
“I just think for the sake of rebuilding trust, which is my focus with the organisation, we can’t afford to be questioning the facts that are out there.”
He also confirmed a salary of €170,000 had been agreed, and that Ryan was supposed to return to his radio show on September 4.
Kevin continued: “I think part of the discussion throughout with me and Ryan Tubridy have been about the need to take responsibility on both sides, and RTE has taken responsibility, has born the vast majority of responsibility, for what went wrong here.”
“But I also felt it was important that Ryan himself owned a certain amount of responsibility for this, and we had some discussions about that, and that was important.”
“I think the statement yesterday muddied the waters somewhat, and I think it’s really important that Grant Thronton and the RTE board restated the earnings correctly for those years, and I don’t think it helps to undermine that. We need to all accept the restated earnings, that is the fact of it.”
Ryan’s statement addressing the second Grant Thornton report read: “I welcome the findings of the Grant Thornton Report, published today. I also welcome the report’s findings that I did not claim €120,000 in fees which was due to me in 2020 and that I did not agree with how RTE proposed to account for this decision.”
“It is also clear that my actual income from RTE in 2020 and 2021 matches what was originally published as my earnings for those years and RTE has not yet published its top ten earner details for 2022.”
He added: “I repeat my offer to publish the details of any future RTE contract. 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.”
“Finally, I want to acknowledge the huge support that I have received in recent weeks from people across the country; many cards and letters, greetings on the street and words of support from people I bumped into meant an awful lot to me and I appreciate them all very much.”
The next day, RTÉ boss Kevin Bakhurst released a statement confirming Ryan wouldn’t be returning to his radio role.
“We went into negotiations with Ryan in good faith and in the hopes of reaching an agreement that would see Ryan return to his RTÉ Radio 1 show. I have decided not to continue with negotiations and, as such, there are no plans for Ryan to return to his presenting role with RTÉ at this time,” he said.
“Despite having agreed some of the fundamentals, including fee, duration and hours, regretfully, it is my view that trust between the parties has broken down.”
“Public statements made without consultation appear to question the basis for the necessary restatement of fees paid for services for 2020 and 2021.”
