Ryan Tubridy has revealed why he’ll leave RTÉ with his “head held high” if he’s “given the royal order of the boot”.
The presenter met with the Oireachtas Media Committee today, during which he and his agent Noel Kelly faced questioning over payments made to him by RTÉ.
During the hearing, Ryan was asked if all the money raised by the Toy Show Appeal over the past three years went directly to charity and not RTÉ.
Ryan insisted all the money raised went to children’s charities across Ireland, and said: “It’s one of the greatest legacies I’ve had.”
“Even if I am given the royal order of the boot from RTÉ on Friday, I’ll be able to walk out of those gates with my head held high knowing that Irish people year in year out in the last three years offered year 1: six million, year 2: six million, year 3: 4 million out of their back pockets.
“They have gone to 32 counties on this island to children’s charities, it is a beautiful thing,” he added.
Earlier in the hearing, Ryan admitted he “could be out of a job by Friday”, casting doubt over his future at the station.
While the presenter expressed his desire to return to his radio show, Ryan has suggested his future at RTÉ is up in the air.
RTÉ was plunged into chaos last month when it was revealed that their highest-paid presenter’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 issue was partly the result of a commercial deal which saw Ryan receive additional income from Renault, which was guaranteed and underwritten by RTÉ.
The commercial partner only paid €75,000 to Tubridy once in 2020, but RTÉ paid out for the years 2021 and 2022.
The manner in which these payments were recorded led to an understatement of his earnings.
RTÉ labelled two invoices of €75,000 payments to Ryan as “consultancy fees”, and the now-infamous barter account was used to pay them.
Ryan and his agent Noel Kelly have maintained they didn’t know the payments came from RTÉ, and believed they came from Renault.
